Job Search Club methodology training set to boost employment prospects for youth in Iraq
ILO trains facilitators to pilot the methodology in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and transfer job search skills to young job seekers from displaced and host communities, improving their chances of securing jobs.
13 March 2024
Dohuk, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (ILO News) – The ILO concluded a six-day training session on its Job Search Club (JSC) methodology, equipping 25 facilitators from the Directorate of Youth, Directorate of Labour and Social Affairs, and Career Development Centres in Duhok and Ninawa governorates with skills aimed at helping youths find employment across Iraq.
The JSC is an ILO methodology, providing youth with activities set to help them find suitable work within a short period of time.
Based on two-week job search support activities, the JSCs are set to bring together different youths facing similar challenges to enter the labour market. Young people will receive intensive coaching by the newly trained facilitators on job search-related skills.
At least 200 young women and men job seekers from displaced and host communities in the Duhok and Ninawa governorates will benefit from the support offered through the Clubs.
“We are proud of launching our Job Search Club methodology in Iraq, alongside our partners,” said ILO PROSPECTS Regional Chief Technical Adviser Shaza Al Jondi. “Following in the footsteps of previous successful implementations of the clubs under the PROSPECTS partnership in Egypt and Jordan, we look forward to seeing the facilitators support youths from displaced and host communities in Iraq to look for, find and access decent employment. This is one of the key goals to the ILO’s mission in the country highlighted in its Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), and one that we are especially focused on under the partnership.”
Following an initial assessment of their personal interests, skills and occupational goals, the Club members will learn how to gather job leads from various sources, conduct job interviews, fill out applications, write CVs and handle stressful situations, among others.
At the end of the intensive programme, jobseekers will benefit from a further three-month window in which they will receive assessments on their employment status.
“The Job Search Club initiative will support the integration of youth into the labour market in Iraq,” said Mohammed Zuhair, Deputy Manager of the Department of Labour and Vocational Training in the Ninawa Governorate. “This is a new practice within our department. Our aim is to collaboratively refine the youth labour market definition and identify job prospects for them. The idea exchange process and networking among club members promoted by the Clubs is a game changer.”
Through the cooperation with its project implementing partner, Caritas Czech Republic (CCR), the initiative will foster peer-to-peer exchanges among young job seekers, create new connections, while allowing them to hone their job search abilities, matching their qualifications and skillset.
“Transferring the experience of Job Search Clubs to Iraq will contribute to guiding young people in the right direction towards the labor market,” said Majada Al Majali, Master Trainer of Job Search Club Methodology. “This will help them identify their skills and ways to search for suitable job opportunities within the local labor market and its private sector, also utilizing their personal and newly-established network of contacts. ”
According to the 2021 ILO Iraq Labour Force Survey, the overall unemployment rate in Iraq was 16.5 percent, with unemployment for youth in the 15-24 age bracket reaching up to 36 percent.
The JSC is an ILO methodology, providing youth with activities set to help them find suitable work within a short period of time.
Based on two-week job search support activities, the JSCs are set to bring together different youths facing similar challenges to enter the labour market. Young people will receive intensive coaching by the newly trained facilitators on job search-related skills.
At least 200 young women and men job seekers from displaced and host communities in the Duhok and Ninawa governorates will benefit from the support offered through the Clubs.
“We are proud of launching our Job Search Club methodology in Iraq, alongside our partners,” said ILO PROSPECTS Regional Chief Technical Adviser Shaza Al Jondi. “Following in the footsteps of previous successful implementations of the clubs under the PROSPECTS partnership in Egypt and Jordan, we look forward to seeing the facilitators support youths from displaced and host communities in Iraq to look for, find and access decent employment. This is one of the key goals to the ILO’s mission in the country highlighted in its Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), and one that we are especially focused on under the partnership.”
Following an initial assessment of their personal interests, skills and occupational goals, the Club members will learn how to gather job leads from various sources, conduct job interviews, fill out applications, write CVs and handle stressful situations, among others.
At the end of the intensive programme, jobseekers will benefit from a further three-month window in which they will receive assessments on their employment status.
“The Job Search Club initiative will support the integration of youth into the labour market in Iraq,” said Mohammed Zuhair, Deputy Manager of the Department of Labour and Vocational Training in the Ninawa Governorate. “This is a new practice within our department. Our aim is to collaboratively refine the youth labour market definition and identify job prospects for them. The idea exchange process and networking among club members promoted by the Clubs is a game changer.”
Through the cooperation with its project implementing partner, Caritas Czech Republic (CCR), the initiative will foster peer-to-peer exchanges among young job seekers, create new connections, while allowing them to hone their job search abilities, matching their qualifications and skillset.
“Transferring the experience of Job Search Clubs to Iraq will contribute to guiding young people in the right direction towards the labor market,” said Majada Al Majali, Master Trainer of Job Search Club Methodology. “This will help them identify their skills and ways to search for suitable job opportunities within the local labor market and its private sector, also utilizing their personal and newly-established network of contacts. ”
According to the 2021 ILO Iraq Labour Force Survey, the overall unemployment rate in Iraq was 16.5 percent, with unemployment for youth in the 15-24 age bracket reaching up to 36 percent.