ILO response to Gaza crisis
New skills and a brighter horizon for Gaza fishermen
An ILO training initiative gives a group of young Gaza fishermen, beleaguered by severe restrictions on movement and trade, a chance to learn new skills and increase their chances of employment.
18 August 2015
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العربية
GAZA (ILO News) – Thirty young unemployed Palestinian fishermen from the Gaza Strip are developing their technical fishing skills and improving their chances of future employment through an ILO-organised instruction and on-the-job training course designed to support the vital fisheries sector in the Palestinian enclave.
The young fishermen recently completed the first phase of the course, which is part of the ILO’s capacity-building “Skills Development and Enhancement of Employability in the Fishing Sector” programme, implemented in partnership with Gaza’s General Syndicate of Marine Fishers.
The programme works on alleviating poverty and restoring livelihoods for the most vulnerable fishermen in the Palestinian coastal enclave, targeting the fishermen and boat owners most affected by the Israeli military operation in Gaza in the summer of 2014.
The first phase of the course entailed 100 hours of instruction delivered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s Gaza Training Centre, training unemployed fishermen on repair and maintenance of boat engines and electricity networks, and maintenance of electricity generators on shore.
The young fishermen have now embarked on the second phase of the course: a paid three-month, on-the-job training period. During this second phase, the apprentices will apply their newly-acquired skills by repairing the vessels of 20 fishing boat owners whose boats were damaged during the 2014 military operation.
During a graduation ceremony at the end of the first phase, the ILO handed each of the young trainees a toolkit consisting of the essential instruments needed for boat repair and maintenance.
“I thank the ILO for giving me this chance to both improve my skills and increase my chances at finding a job,” said Marwan Nada, one of the graduating trainees during a speech at the ceremony, attended by representatives from the ILO, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, the General Syndicate of Marine Fishers, and UNRWA.
“I’ve obtained new knowledge and developed new skills through this training, which I can now apply in real life,” he added.
The programme will also implement an initiative targeting 100 working Gaza fishermen, to train them on occupational safety and health measures and safe fish handling.
The programme is part of the larger ILO’s “Supporting Livelihoods for Fishermen and their Families in the Gaza strip” project in Gaza, which in turn feeds into the ILO’s Emergency Response to the Crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military operation of July and August, 2014 resulted in a scale of damage and destruction to Gaza’s social and economic infrastructure unprecedented since Israel occupied the Strip in 1967. Israel withdrew from the Strip in 2005, but continues to control much of Gaza’s land, air and sea boundaries, and imposes severe restrictions on the movement and access of people and goods into and out of the enclave. Egypt controls its boundaries with southern Gaza, and imposes similar restrictions on Gaza residents and trade.
The fishery sector plays a key role in providing food security, income generation and job creation in the enclave. Around 4,500 Gaza households depend on the sector directly. These include the households of fishermen, mechanics, electricians, traders of fishing gear, boat builders, and fish retail marketers and distributers.
Fishermen are amongst the groups most affected by food insecurity in Gaza. Over the years, increasing restrictions on movement and reductions in the size of their fishing zones have led to a sharp rise in the cost of fishing and a loss of income, thus compromising the livelihoods of fishermen and leaving them to face extreme financial difficulties.
The young fishermen recently completed the first phase of the course, which is part of the ILO’s capacity-building “Skills Development and Enhancement of Employability in the Fishing Sector” programme, implemented in partnership with Gaza’s General Syndicate of Marine Fishers.
The programme works on alleviating poverty and restoring livelihoods for the most vulnerable fishermen in the Palestinian coastal enclave, targeting the fishermen and boat owners most affected by the Israeli military operation in Gaza in the summer of 2014.
The first phase of the course entailed 100 hours of instruction delivered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s Gaza Training Centre, training unemployed fishermen on repair and maintenance of boat engines and electricity networks, and maintenance of electricity generators on shore.
The young fishermen have now embarked on the second phase of the course: a paid three-month, on-the-job training period. During this second phase, the apprentices will apply their newly-acquired skills by repairing the vessels of 20 fishing boat owners whose boats were damaged during the 2014 military operation.
During a graduation ceremony at the end of the first phase, the ILO handed each of the young trainees a toolkit consisting of the essential instruments needed for boat repair and maintenance.
“I thank the ILO for giving me this chance to both improve my skills and increase my chances at finding a job,” said Marwan Nada, one of the graduating trainees during a speech at the ceremony, attended by representatives from the ILO, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, the General Syndicate of Marine Fishers, and UNRWA.
“I’ve obtained new knowledge and developed new skills through this training, which I can now apply in real life,” he added.
The programme will also implement an initiative targeting 100 working Gaza fishermen, to train them on occupational safety and health measures and safe fish handling.
The programme is part of the larger ILO’s “Supporting Livelihoods for Fishermen and their Families in the Gaza strip” project in Gaza, which in turn feeds into the ILO’s Emergency Response to the Crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military operation of July and August, 2014 resulted in a scale of damage and destruction to Gaza’s social and economic infrastructure unprecedented since Israel occupied the Strip in 1967. Israel withdrew from the Strip in 2005, but continues to control much of Gaza’s land, air and sea boundaries, and imposes severe restrictions on the movement and access of people and goods into and out of the enclave. Egypt controls its boundaries with southern Gaza, and imposes similar restrictions on Gaza residents and trade.
The fishery sector plays a key role in providing food security, income generation and job creation in the enclave. Around 4,500 Gaza households depend on the sector directly. These include the households of fishermen, mechanics, electricians, traders of fishing gear, boat builders, and fish retail marketers and distributers.
Fishermen are amongst the groups most affected by food insecurity in Gaza. Over the years, increasing restrictions on movement and reductions in the size of their fishing zones have led to a sharp rise in the cost of fishing and a loss of income, thus compromising the livelihoods of fishermen and leaving them to face extreme financial difficulties.