Bazaar 3) Trainees join labor market as training draws to a close)

A week before the end of the vocational training program within the third phase of the (Bazaar) project, the beneficiaries are now more qualified to enter the local labor market from its widest doors.

Although most of the trainees were able to obtain real job opportunities before the end of the training, the development of their professional level will open the way for them to obtain opportunities that meet their aspirations and plans that they set in mind.

Ali Rashid, 36, one of the trainees of the home electricity workshop, says that he has reached a professional level that allows him to start his own work, pointing to the role of the trainers contracted with the (Bazaar) project in raising the vocational level of the trainees.

Rashid completed the first home workshop on his own account without facing technical problems last Friday, although he did not have much experience in this field before he got the opportunity to participate in the third phase training of the (Bazaar) project.  

As for the plumbing workshop, 11 out of the 12 trainees were able to obtain job opportunities in different workshops for a good fee, as they said.

Obaid al-Khalil, 38, who joined a plumbing workshop in the city of Raqqa, says that after the end of the daily training program, he invests his time to meet the needs of his family of 7 members.  

Al-Khalil, who used to work in local plumbing workshops as a day laborer, added that he is now able to open his own workshop and get opportunities to run the business on his own, after he was able to develop his professional skills in this vital field.

By moving to the gypsum board workshop, Walid al-Khalil, 32, was able to reach a high professional level in the field of interior decoration and gypsum board, taking advantage of the intensive training he received throughout the project.

It is now time to turn a new page in his own field of work, as he is able to run an entire workshop and increase his chances of achieving a stable and permanent income that helps him secure the future of his children, al-Khalil says.

The third phase of the (Bazaar) project was launched after selecting 36 trainees distributed in home electricity, plumbing and gypsum board workshops, with the aim of helping them secure a new start, reintegrate them into the labor market and keep pace with its growing needs.  

The project comes at a time when Raqqa has witnessed remarkable urban activity, since its liberation from ISIS in 2017, with the start of reconstruction efforts and the increase in construction projects, which led to the emergence of the need for a lot of manpower in basic professions such as plumbing, decoration, paint, home electricity and others.

This phase includes providing practical and theoretical training sessions in specific professions, in addition to training in professional marketing.

The vocational training of the third phase of the (Bazaar) project is scheduled to end on March 10, after its launch on January 9.