Vocational Training Comes to Former Conflict Areas in Myanmar
Myanmar - This week sees the launch of a ground-breaking vocational training project in Myanmar, through the joint efforts of IOM, the Swiss Government, and the Government of Myanmar.
The project targets 3,000 disadvantaged people in conflict-affected regions in Myanmar, and was officially launched in Kayin State yesterday, with a launch in neighbouring Mon State scheduled for tomorrow.
The Local Vocational Training project is one component of a multi-year, multi-phased programme on vocational skills development funded by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation (Swisscontact) and Germany’s Institute for Vocational Training, Labour Market and Social Policy (INBAS).
IOM is partnering with these organizations in the implementation of local vocational training in Kayin and Mon States to enable the programme to reach remote areas, long affected by conflict.
The launch ceremony in Kayin State was attended by the Chief Minister for Kayin State U Zaw Min, the Union Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security U Htin Aung, and Ambassador of Switzerland to Myanmar Christoph Burgener.
“I am happy that this training will be community-based,” said Chief Minister U Zaw Min at the launch ceremony. “Now those people facing hardship will be given opportunities to improve their economic status while taking care of their families. This project will be very much welcomed by the rural as well as the urban population and we will support the project for the benefit of the region.”
Deputy Minister U Htin Aung noted: “As Myanmar is implementing reforms, upgrading of the skills of our people is critical. Therefore this project supports one of our key national priorities.”
Swiss Ambassador Christoph Burgener described the project as “bringing skills opportunities to the people here in the region and having rural women and men employed or self-employed, not only trained, and using their vocational skills development to make a widespread impact on poverty reduction.”
The first phase of this project will run through January 2018 and will offer 90 town-based courses and 80 village-based courses in high demand labour segments.
For more information please contact
Kieran Gorman-Best
IOM Myanmar
Tel: +95 94317 1025
Email: kgormanbest@iom.int