UPA Project: professional training and access to employment

Domain of activity: Professional training, access to employment and economic insertion (development of income-generating activities).

Location: As of 2008, nine peripheral neighborhoods of the cities of Maputo (around 1,500,000 inhabitants) and six neighborhoods of Beira (2^nd largest city in the country, numbering about 600,000 inhabitants). 

Context and objectives:

In spite of sustained economic growth, unemployment among young Mozambicans on the periphery of Maputo and Beira has reached a worrisome level. Confronting this problematic in close partnership with the INEFP (National Institute of Employment and Professional Training), Essor puts to good use its experience in providing assistance with professional training and employment. The objective of the project is to insert young people into the labor market by promoting access to training and to professional internships as well as by developing with them their own income-generating activity by facilitating access to microcredits.

Actions:

The project is based on a partnership between different actors of civil society: The neighborhood associations (OCB) as intermediaries with the public target of Essor, the centers of professional training, the INEFP, the businesses, the microcredit organizations. Agents of Professional Orientation (AOP) are trained within each OCB and insure personalized followup of each beneficiary throughout the process of economic insertion.

To promote access to professional training and business internships:

- Realization of professional training courses in promising sectors of the local economy: carpentry, automotive, tourism and restaurants, crafts, hairdressing, services, etc. 
- Reinforcement of the dialogue between training centers and businesses.
- Official business internships for all trained youths.

For the improvement of insertion of young people through development of their own income-generating activity:

- Daily functioning of “Employment Offices” (GFE) led by the AOP.
- Organization of work orientation sessions (interview training, CV, etc.).
- Aid to project managers through training in creation, management and development of small economic activities.
- Possibility of access to microcredit allowing for development of one’s activity with personalized followup by ESSOR technicians.

For the reinforcement of collaboration among training actors and of aid to economic insertion:

- Reinforcement of the partnership between the INEFP and the Primary Community Organizations (OCB) of impoverished neighborhoods.
- Capitalization and dissemination of documents relating the experiences of the Project in the framework of round tables, Workshops and steering committees of the project bringing together all project partners.
- Strategic support for the INEFP to animate its policy of Professional Training and insertion of youths in Mozambique. 

Direct beneficiaries: 400 youths a year of which at least 50% are women.

Indirect beneficiaries: 2000 persons per year.

Partners:
- The technical partners are the OCB of relevant neighborhoods and the centers of professional training.
- The privileged institutional partner is the INEFP.
- The private partners are businesses and microcredit organizations.
- The project is financially supported by the European Commission, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Regional Council of Nord-Pas de Calais, the Belgian Technical Cooperation, the French Committee for International Solidarity (CFSI), several private foundations and numerous gifts from businesses and individual friends of Essor.