Helvetas has partnered with INEP and IFPELAC to train young people in the northern Mozambique

Helvetas has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (today, 22/09/2023) with the Secretary of State for Youth and Employment (SEJE) through the National Employment Institute (INEP) and the Alberto Cassimo Institute for Vocational Training and Labour Studies (IFPELAC) to promote vocational training for youth, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas in northern Mozambique.

The Memorandum is being implemented as part of the "Skills for Youth in Mozambique (SIM!)" project, funded by Swiss Cooperation, aiming to promote and improve (self-)employment and income opportunities for youth (aged 15 to 35), in equal gender proportion, by increasing access to market-relevant skills and training, supporting their transition to the labour market and contributing to policies that lead to their economic inclusion.

Speaking at the event, the director of Helvetas, Juerg Merz, expressed his gratitude to Swiss Embassy for its trust in and funding for the SIM! project, stressing that the Memorandum "is part of the Swiss-Mozambique Cooperation Programme for the period 2022-2026, with a focus on increasing sustainable employment and income, which remain major challenges, especially for many Mozambican women".

The Permanent Secretary of the SEJE, Ivete Ângela dos Santos Alane, welcomed Helvetas' initiative to develop projects that contributes to reducing youth unemployment in a holistic approach, particularly in the most densely populated regions in Mozambique.

"According to recently published IOF data (2022), 90 per cent of the economically active population is in rural areas, and Nampula province, the location chosen for the project's start-up, has 84 per cent of the economically active population [...]. Hence the need to invest in vocational courses, designed according to the reality of each region" said Ivete Alane.

The SIM! project is funded by Swiss Embassy and is being implemented (phase I) in Nampula and Niassa provinces.