IFC Supports Yemen’s Efforts to Help Young Job Seekers Find Employment
In Sana’a:
Name: Desmond Dodd
Phone: +967 (1) 448 410
E-mail: DDodd@ifc.org
In Cairo:
Name: Khadiga Fahmy
Phone: +2 2461 9140
E-mail: KFahmy@ifc.org
Sana’a, Yemen, October 22, 2009—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today
signed an agreement with the Yemen Education for Employment Foundation (YEFE)
to create the country’s first professional training program targeting
first-time job seekers. The program will help increase employment opportunities
for participants by improving their business skills.
IFC will partner with YEFE to deliver IFC’s Business Edge training products to
help job seekers develop the skills necessary to find employment. YEFE will
fund the project and provide free job placement services. IFC’s support is
expected to contribute to reducing unemployment among young adults, with a
consequent long-term benefit to Yemen’s economy.
“This training program is an important step towards helping create employment
opportunities in Yemen. Partnering with other organizations like IFC in the
future will help increase the impact of employment-generating programs,” said
Alwan Al-Shaibani, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of YEFE.
IFC and YEFE expect to train 3000 people over the next three years under the
sponsorship of companies that have agreed to hire 85 percent of those trained.
This partnership is part of IFC’s Business EdgeTM project in Yemen, which also
seeks to expand access to training to more rural areas and increase the
participation of women in the workforce.
“IFC is working with donors and partners in Yemen to help create opportunities
for people to escape poverty,” said Raymond Conway, IFC’s Country Officer in
Yemen. “This partnership shows IFC’s commitment to helping combat unemployment
among the younger generation by providing Yemenis with professional training
while supporting the sustainability of Yemen’s private sector, which has a key
role to play in making a more sustainable contribution to the local economy.”
Yemen, the Middle East’s poorest country, is seeking to build new sources of
income to replace dwindling oil reserves. The county’s private sector remains
at an early stage of development, unemployment is estimated to be as high as 40
percent, and nearly half the population lives on less than $2 a day. The
government is actively working to address the challenges and bring about
change.
To keep development moving, Britain’s DFID has contributed to a three-year
program to finance multiple country projects, which will be implemented by IFC
and FIAS in collaboration with the Yemeni government and the private sector.
This funding will assist IFC Advisory Services efforts’ in addressing the
obstacles faced by the private sector of one of the region’s most challenging
markets.
IFC’s Business Edge program has trained more than 24,000 individuals, of which
15 percent were women, in Yemen since 2004 and is aiming to train another
15,000 people over the next three years. Business Edge is a business skills
training product tailored to the local market and currently offered in several
regional countries through licensed training providers. More information can be
obtained from www.businessedge-me.com.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape
poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in
developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing
private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to
businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal
2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial
crisis. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
About YEFE
YEFE was legally established in June 2008 as a not-for-profit corporation
organized as a local entity under the Yemeni Ministry of Social Affairs and
Labor. As an EFE affiliate, YEFE’s purpose is to address youth unemployment
issues in Yemen. For more information, visit www.efefoundation.org.
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