During the second phase of implementation, the GoMP started “Skills Development for Employment” (S4E) Activities with the aim to improve diversification of livelihoods in the coastal area. The project targets 1,000 youth in the next four years [2018—2021) to receive vocational skills in multiple sectors. These S4E activities will be implemented hand in hand with the private sector through partnership agreements.
The main objectives of the S4E activities are to empower local youth in vocational skills, improve knowledge on business planning and financial management in order to increase family income. This activity is designed to work as practical approach by applying method of competency-based skills training.
In the preparation stage the Gulf of Mottama Project staff, in collaboration with private sector players, assessed the skill requirements and interest among youth, focusing on urban areas. Based on these requirements and interest, the project invited employers to come together for developing a curriculum and course design in their respective profession.
So far, the project trained about 490 youth on different skill sets such as sewing & fashion design, beauty salon and automotive repair together with 32 employer trainers.
According to Gulf of Mottama Project’s Skills Development Officer, Mi Khaing Khaing Oo, currently 125 out of 490 youth were able to set up their own businesses and some are working in the garment factories. The remaining were not yet working as they graduated their course recently.
The project is conducting a tracer study to follow up on the careers of the graduates of this program. GoMP’s working approaches are to empower the local youth to enable them to set up their business or find meaningful employment through skills they have acquired from skill trainings.
In addition, the GoMP approaches allow employer trainers to improve their ways of teaching to be more systematic and monitored which benefits their businesses in the long run.
Ma Thiri Shwe, the owner of Hla Aka Ri Beauty Salon said, she had been working for 13 years in this business, but she did not have a regular customer like she has inow. Before this S4E trainings, she only trained 15 trainees. In early 2018, she signed a contract with the Gulf of Mottama Project as an employer trainer and she agreed to train 30 trainees with the support from the project. During the training period, she got many customers visiting her shop and was able to strengthen her networks.
Likewise, Ma Aye Mi Kyaw, Fashion & Design School owner, set-up her business 10 years ago, but she did not have a training curriculum as course instruction and based the training on her experiences to instruct the trainees. She said, she had trained 30 young women on basic skills of tailoring but some of them could not complete the course due to several reasons. Since she cooperated with the GoMP, some changes occurred as she was able now to teach more systematically as she received technical support from GoMP on developing curriculum and teaching lesson plans.
Working with GoMP improved her knowledge and confidence on facilitating and teaching. She believes and hopes that her fashion and design school will become well known and successful in the future. The Gulf of Mottama Project is working in eight townships in Mon State and Bago Region. It focuses on conservation and sustainable development in sectors such as fisheries, agriculture, water sanitation and hygiene, governance, skill development and research.