Reinforcing social and solidarity economy for the unemployed, uneducated and refugees

"Reinforcing social and solidarity economy for the unemployed, uneducated and refugees" (MoreThanAJob) project aims at promoting economic and social development by facilitating inclusivity within the employment & educational system of some of the most vulnerable population groups.

In May 2021, MoreThanAJob project launched a call for proposals for sub-grants to be awarded to the Social Solidarity Economy ‘SSE’ institutions and entities. A high standard of 15 proposals was received from several institutions in Palestine, and after a careful evaluation of all applications, MoreThanAJob team, announced the 2 winning projects in Palestine.

The first one is “Fostering Economic Empowerment of Women from Less Fortunate Families through vocational Training” run by the Civil Society of Nablus Governorate (CSNG) which strives to promote economic and social development by fostering the economic empowerment of women from less fortunate families from marginalized areas and preparing them to enrol in the labour market through vocational training.

Project Main Target:

The project works with total of 35 Palestinian youth from low-income socio-economic backgrounds aged between 16-35 through vocational programs in the field of International Desserts Making and Upholstery training fostering their capacities of self-employment, providing networking opportunities and encouraging their entrepreneurship.

This will be achieved by providing the following two main trainings:

 (1) Upholstery Training Course in collaboration with the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) workshop in Nablus and with the supervision and affiliation to the Ministry of Labour. The training targets 15 participants among Palestinian youth males and females. After the announcement of the training course on social media and websites, 33 applicants registered in the course and only 15 participants were selected with reference to the set of standards and priorities that meet with MoreThanAJob project objectives and its targeted beneficiaries. It is worth mentioning that among the 15 participants, 4 females were interested in the course.

 (2) International Desserts Making Course in collaboration with Mariam Hashem Centre for Culinary Arts & Catering in Nablus and with the supervision and affiliation to the Ministry of Labour. The training targets 20 participants among Palestinian youth males and females aged between 18-45.  After the announcement of the training course on social media and websites, 36 applicants registered in the course and only 20 participants were selected with reference to the set of standards and priorities that meet with MoreThanAJob project objectives and its targeted beneficiaries. It is worth mentioning that among the participants, 80% are females who number of them already have their own start-ups and others who have entrepreneurial ideas for new projects.

What will the participants learn in the International Desserts Making course?

The participants will be introduced to create a range of delicious desserts where the course focuses on creating plated desserts incorporating a range of complimentary textures and flavours. Under the guidance of the expert chef Mrs Kefah Askari who will develop crucial plating and garnishing skills. Careful step-by-step instructions make this course perfect for beginners.

(3) Leadership and project management Trainings: The trainees at both training courses will be introduced to number of further enhancement workshop that would reinforce their learnt skills. The topics are as following: Specialized training hours in marketing, e-marketing and the multi-level marketing; Leadership and Project management and financial management for the entrepreneurial project

Job creation and expected employment opportunities

After the completion of these trainings, the job creation and expected employment opportunities:

•        Expected for Upholstery Training Course (8 out of the 15) to get a job - Networking with factories, and companies in the field of upholstery to obtain the work-based learning period or employ the participants after training.

•        Expected for Sweets Training Course (16 out of 20) to get a job. This information is based on the questionnaires collected and data gathered from the applicants. Those 16 expected to have a job opportunity since 9 of them already have an entrepreneur ideas and have the skills, and 7 who started their own projects (Start Ups) and they will be able to proceed in their own business after obtaining the required knowledge and skills.

Project Progress:

CSNG has completed the needs assessment and research studies, networking with relevant stakeholders to increase awareness through media campaigns and has also completed participant selection through an application process that included over 60 applicants.

The selection was done through interviews, questionnaires; interviewing the participants in terms of set of standards, 35 applicants were targeted for both training courses. It is worth mentioning that the priority and selection standards were given to:

Palestinian young people who are uneducated from marginalized areas, unemployed, those who have initial background and experience in the field of targeted training, and having ideas or developing a startup or SME.

As planned, the trainings started on February 27, 2022 after an agreement was signed with the Ministry of Labour. Both training are currently in progress at the Vocational Training Center (VTC) of Nablus and Mariam Hashem Centre for Culinary Arts & Catering in Nablus.

CSNG has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mariam Hashem Centre for Culinary Arts & Catering in order to host the implementation of its first training in the field of International Desserts Making.

The International Desserts Making Course is now running by CSNG at Mariam Hashem Centre for Culinary Arts & Catering in parallel with the coordination of the VTC Center to start the upholstery training at the end of March 2022.