Supporting youth employability and entrepreneurship initiatives in Mozambique
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UN Women in Mozambique is supporting the State Secretariat of Youth and Employment in setting up knowledge hubs for youth’s increased access to reference documents on entrepreneurship and employability, This project aims to unleash their entrepreneurship potential and foster their transition from less formal, vulnerable, and unprotected subsistence occupations, to formal, decent, and sustainable work. This will in turn drive job creation and income generation, as the Mozambican society strives to mitigate the negative socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and severe climate-related shocks.
The launching ceremony of the Entreprenuer’s Toolkit, produced as part of the project was held on 16 November in Maputo. The launch was attended by stakeholders ranging from youth and student associations, business leaders, and Government officers to International Development Agencies.
The State Secretary, H.E. Oswaldo Peterburgo symbolically handed over the Toolkit to representatives of the diverse youth and student associations attending the ceremony, highlighting that,
“The toolkit provides a clear set of tools that we believe will be of great use in the building and the realization of the dreams of our enterprising youth”.
He continued, “The Government commits itself and urges, values, nurtures, and fosters the capacity of young people to creatively solve their problems.”
UN Women Country Representative, Dr. Marie Laetitia Kayisire reiterated that “UN Women is determined to continue its full support to the Government to envision a society in which, through entrepreneurship, youth play an integral role in the country's development. UN Women equally offers its technical assistance in mainstreaming gender equality and the empowerment of young women and adolescents in the various policy instruments, strategies, and action plans related to youth and employment.”
The technical and financial support is part of UN Women's commitment to strengthen national youth and women's economic empowerment programs towards the domestication and accelerated implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over 6,000 copies of the toolkit will be disseminated during the national campaign for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
The launching ceremony and wide dissemination of the Job Seeker Toolkit is part of various economic empowerment initiatives developed by UN Women Mozambique in collaboration with the State Secretariat of Youth and Employment, in the framework of the Rapariga Biz Programme and the National Action Plan of the Employment Policy (PAPE, 20221-2024). Over 2,000 adolescent girls and young women from the safe spaces in Nampula and Zambézia improved their knowledge of skills for job hunting and preparatory work for interviews in 2021. 50 secondary school libraries in the province of Nampula were equipped with employability resource handbooks to promote young women’s readiness for job opportunities, reaching an additional 10,000 youth/students
“Girls don't be fooled by the prevailing ideas promoting gender discrimination in male-dominated professions. I am one of 5 girls that make up the class of 24 graduating in Mechanics of Metallic Construction. The Job Seeker's Toolkit I have in my hand will help me look for my first job with confidence. My professional dream is to work in the logistics operations of the Northern Development Corridor. I am gaining enough skills to move forward." – Rosema Rego
Rapariga Biz Programme is a joint UN program in Mozambique that began in May 2016 with technical assistance from UNFPA, UNESCO, UNICEF, and UN Women, and receives generous support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Government of Canada. The programme targets capacity building in sexual and reproductive health, leadership, citizenship, and human rights of 1 million vulnerable teenage girls to prevent child marriages and teenage pregnancy. UN Women is responsible for the economic empowerment component of the programme and addressing the economic barriers to adolescent girls’ full access to SRHR-related services.