Lighting up futures: Skills training transforms lives in Ethiopia’s Somali region

Kebribeyah, ETHIOPIA (ILO News) – In Kebribeyah, a small town in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, two men from different backgrounds are now working side-by-side to power a brighter future – for their families and their community.

Mustofa Tahiba, 35, grew up in the Kebribeyah Refugee Camp. A refugee and a father of four, he spent years juggling irregular labour jobs to keep his household afloat. For Mustofa, life was uncertain. For days he went without any income. Abdurehman Mohammed, a 40-year-old father from host community, faced similar hardships. Droughts often devastated his farm, forcing him to alternate between farming and daily labour to make ends meet. “There was no stable income,” he recalls.

This began to change in 2024, when they enrolled in the Building Electrical Installation program at the Jigjiga Polytechnic Technical College (JPTC), supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO) PROSPECTS Partnership. The training programme is one of several vocational education initiatives designed by the ILO to enhance the skills and employability of both refugees and host community members.

As part of the PROSPECTS project – a global partnership spearheaded by the Government of the Netherlands – the training provided hands-on technical skills aligned with the needs of the local labour market, while also promoting social cohesion by bringing together refugees and members of the host community in a shared learning environment.

Mustofa and Abdurehman diligently completed their rigorous training curriculum and earned nationally recognized competency certificate in October 2024 – marking a turning point in both of their lives with support from the ILO and JPTC.

© JPTC

© JPTC

Today, both are employed as electricians at Kebribeyah Hospital, where they manage all electrical installations and ensure smooth operation of critical services like the hospital’s backup generator.

“This job changed everything for me,” says Mustofa. Now earning ETB 8,000 (around US$64) per month, he’s able to provide consistent support for his family. “And in my spare time, I do small electrical jobs around town – the extra income helps even more.”

Abdurehman, who earns ETB 5,000 (about US$40) monthly, says the steady income has allowed him to move beyond the unpredictability of subsistence farming. “I can now plan ahead. My children are back in school, and we’re thinking about the future with hope.”

Their story is a powerful testament to the transformative impact of skills development initiatives.

In support to Ethiopia’s commitments on refugee inclusion that were made during the Global Refugee Forum 2023, this refugee inclusive market-oriented vocational training model is part of our commitments to Government of Ethiopia in fulfilling their pledge. "We designed this intervention to ensure that vocational skills are offered to suit labour market needs and through the PROSPECTS initiatives, we hope that this will result into better livelihoods and improvements in social cohesion,” says Stephen Opio, Chief Technical Advisor – ILO PROSPECTS for Ethiopia and Sudan.

About PROSPECTS
The Partnership for Improving Prospects for Forcibly Displaced Persons and Host Communities (PROSPECTS) is a global partnership led by the Government of the Netherlands, implemented in collaboration with the ILO, UNHCR, UNICEF, the World Bank (IFC and MIGA), and other partners. In Ethiopia, the PROSPECTS project aims to improve the socio-economic inclusion of refugees and host communities by enhancing access to education, skills development, and employment opportunities.