Headway programme creates 550 job and training opportunities for KRI youths

Rwanga Foundation has launched the Headway programme which creates job opportunities – mainly for youth and women – in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It is a joint project organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat).

The job-generating project aims to increase the self-reliance among young people aged between 22 and 35 years to promote entrepreneurship. Headway is fully funded by the European Union’s Regional Trust Fund, MADAD. 

USD 3.8 million has been allocated to the programme in order to find 400 job opportunities and train 150 people, overall benefitting 550 people, according to Dastan Qadr, Head of Programmes at Rwanga Foundation.

Qadr explained that Rwanga will ask 550 companies to compete to participate in the programme. Then, 50 companies will be chosen to receive the employees that Rwanga sends. For the first six months of their employment, Rwanga will pay their salaries. After the six-month period, the companies must continue to employ the new workers.

“We aim to help poor people in all Kurdistan’s provinces to build their future by training and finding suitable jobs, as well as supporting the private sector and companies to receive skilled job seekers,” said Qadr.

The project has launched a website to register the companies willing to participate. The deadline is 10 January 2020. The opportunity to compete is available to Kurdish companies across various fields. 

Frsat Sofi, Governor of Erbil province said, “we really care about the graduates who are jobless now due to the zero employment possibilities in the public sector. We want them to find jobs at private sector.”

“Job creation is our priority. We support such programs so that we can help and offer more to our people,” Sofi said.

TMP 08/11/2019

Photo credit: Freedomz / Shutterstock

Photo caption: Greeting new colleagues, Handshake while job interviewing, male candidate shaking hands with Interviewer or employer after a job interview, employment and recruitment concept.