UK allocates US$12 million for JOBA employment training fund in Mozambique

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UK allocates US$12 million for JOBA employment training fund in Mozambique

8:01 CAT | 05 Aug 2016

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The British High Commissioner in Maputo, Joanna Kuenssberg, on Thursday launched an employment fund to improve the access of disadvantaged young people, in particular young women, to skills.

The scheme, known as JOBA, is the result of a partnership between the British Department for International Development (DFID) and the Mozambican government. Its aim is to mobilise and support non-state bodies to provide training and additional services towards employment and self-employment.

To implement the scheme, the British government is allocating 12 million US dollars to be spent between now and the end of next year.

According to DFID’s Alicia Herbert, the fund will provide assistance to many young Mozambican who are lacking professional skills but who may yet become entrepreneurs. She added, “we know that young people are eager to work”.

Speaking on behalf of the government, the national director of employment, Domingas Mosse, said that the government five-year plan for 2015 to 2019 envisages the creation of 1.5 million new jobs. However, she pointed out that the current economic situation in the country posed an enormous challenge to the government’s plans. Therefore, she praised the British initiative.

The JOBA programme covers the economic sectors of agro-business, industrial forestry, manufacturing and processing, mining, transportation and logistics.

JOBA has two streams. The first, Skills for Employment focusses on demand driven training based on job-rich growth sectors. The second, Training for Resilience, funds training to help disadvantaged young Mozambicans withstand the challenges of the current difficult economic situation. It is intended to improve their access to market relevant, quality skills.

Recent data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) indicate that the unemployment rate in Mozambique is around thirty per cent.

Source: AIM