Trainee graduation ceremony held at vocational school in Palestine run by Peace Winds
The Gaza Strip has been blocked off by Israel since 2007 and therefore faces many problems such as financial hardship, high unemployment, and chronic power shortages.
Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) operates a Vocational Technology Training School (CTTC) to provide job opportunities for young people in a place where the youth unemployment rate exceeds 60%.
From March 2019 to February 2020 (two semesters in total), a total of 544 young people participated in 3 courses consisting of one of five specialized classes (photovoltaic power generation system, home appliance repair, mobile / smartphone repair, computer training, and multimedia), a compulsory business skills course, and an internship at a local company.
We will now introduce 5 recent graduates of the course.
1. Daria Farani
Specialized subject: Graphic design
I majored in pedagogy at university, but now it’s very difficult to get a job as a teacher in Gaza, and I stayed unemployed after graduating from university.
It was my college friend who gave me information about CTTC. I realized that a career as a teacher was not realistic, so I applied because I wanted to acquire specialized skills and get a job based on that.
This training has changed my life. It was my first time to do graphic design, but I was delighted to study hard and acquire new skills every day. And when people saw my work many people were surprised and said “Wow!”, which gave me a lot of confidence.
In addition, after the training, the internship company hired me for a job. I want to gain experience so that I can start my own company in the future.
2. Allar Abhadab
Specialized course: Home appliance repair
Immediately after hearing about the CTTC from my relatives, I went to hear about the course content and application requirements. I was studying electronics at university, so I chose the home appliance repair course.
The university classes were centered on theory, this course had a lot of practical skills as well as theory. I learned about hardware and software which was very practical.
Now I work at a branch office at an internship company in Gaza. It takes an hour to commute from my home in Rapha to the city of Gaza, but I am very happy to get a job.
3. Hassan Mansour
Specialized course: Multimedia
I heard about CTTC from a friend and decided to apply. I majored in graphic design and multimedia at university, so I chose the course to further improve my graphic design skills.
At CTTC, the teaching methods of the instructors were wonderful, and I learned a lot. Unfortunately, I declined the job offer I got after the training because I could not agree on the conditions, but now I am aiming to start a business by utilizing the skills I have acquired.
4. Haneen Kulad, Shrin Swedan
Specialized course: Multimedia
We both have a disability because of our hearing loss. We applied for many vocational schools but were refused because off our disability. CTTC was the first vocational training school to accept us. We did not have any experience because we majored in computer science at university but we chose the graphic design course.
In class, we had a hard time understanding what the teacher said. Sometimes we couldn’t tell the teacher what we wanted to say. However, the trainees around me supported me in sign language, and after the lesson, we wrote down all the contents of the lesson in a notebook and studied together.
Unfortunately, during the internship, it was difficult to understand what my boss said, and we couldn’t get a job after the internship because of my disability. But we would like to continue practicing to improve our skills.
There are other people with the same disabilities as us. Hearing loss is easily misunderstood by the people around us, and many people with disabilities are afraid to attend such vocational training schools. We hope that the CTTC can continue to strengthen support for people with disabilities and create an environment where people with disabilities can easily participate.
Peace Winds plans to continue to provide vocational training to young people in the Gaza Strip.
We look forward to your continued support.
* This project is being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan NGO Cooperation Grant Aid in addition to donations from all our supporters.