The African Development Bank (AfDB) together with the government on Tuesday unveiled the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) project aimed at skilling jobless youth with hands-on skills.
Fauzi Haji, the officer in charge of the AfDB in South Sudan, said that the TVET project will seek to catalyze the social-economic development in the country.
“Our strategic objective in South Sudan is to create an enabling environment for diversified and resilient socio-economic development, thereby reducing fragility and instability with priority on supporting agriculture value-chain development for economic diversification and resilience,” said Haji during the launch of the TVET project at the University of Juba.
Haji said that the bank remains committed to developing skills necessary for improving economic competitiveness, diversification, and job creation for young people.
She noted that youth will be equipped with middle-level technical skills that promote high-value-added economic activities and self-employment.
Gibson Francis Waru, the Director General for Technical and Vocation Education and Training at the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, said the project has come at an opportune moment when the Swedish government is winding up support for TVET in South Sudan.
Tap Raj, the Acting Country Representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said the TVET project will reduce the high unemployment rates by empowering youth with vital technical skills.
Isaac Cleto Rial, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Juba, said the project will equip youth with the technical and vocational skills necessary to improve their livelihoods.
In December 2023, the African Development Bank and UNESCO signed an agreement worth 11.3 million U.S dollars with the Ministry of Finance and Planning to support TVET and value chain projects in the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Labor and Industrial Relations.
