Trainees practicing electrical installation

Transforming lives through skills & innovation in Ethiopia

The ILO is transforming lives through targeted investments in youth training and digital empowerment. From TVET to tech hubs, opportunities are opening for refugees and host communities. Decent work begins with inclusion, ambition, and action.

30 June 2025

Jigjiga, Ethiopia (ILO News) - The International Labour Organization (ILO) has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing inclusive skills development and decent job creation in Ethiopia, with a strong focus on the Somali Regional State. This commitment was underscored during a high-level mission led by Khumbula Ndaba, Director of the ILO Country Office for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan.

The ILO delegation paid a courtesy visit to Mustafe Omer, President of the Somali Regional State, where both parties reflected on their ongoing partnership and shared aspirations for promoting decent work and inclusive development across the region.

ILO and Somali region officials looking at a publication — ILO delegation paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Mustafe Omer, President of the Somali Regional State

During the meeting, President Mustafe commended the ILO’s steadfast support and acknowledged its critical role in strengthening the region’s technical and vocational training landscape. He specifically highlighted two landmark achievements: the timely completion of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) center in Kabribayah and the inauguration of the region’s first Digital Innovation Hub in Jigjiga.

The ILO’s support has been timely and strategic in addressing structural challenges that limit the employment prospects of our youth. These initiatives are already making a tangible impact on livelihoods.
Mustafe Omer, President of the Somali Regional State

The satellite TVET center in Kabribayah and the new Digital Innovation Hub are key pillars of the Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS) programme, which aims to improve access to market-relevant skills for refugees and host communities in the Horn of Africa. The hub offers training in digital literacy, programming, and entrepreneurship, while also serving as a co-working space to foster innovation and connectivity.

In collaboration with Jigjiga Polytechnic College, the ILO recently celebrated the graduation of 75 young trainees—refugees and host community members—in trades such as building electrical installation, plumbing, and beauty and hairdressing. These efforts are part of a broader plan to equip 20,000 youth with skills for employability and resilience by 2027.

Discussions during the visit explored new avenues to expand vocational training, integrate emerging technologies—particularly Artificial Intelligence—into skills programming, and leverage public-private partnerships to create sustainable employment pathways.

Decent work is not only a fundamental right but also a cornerstone for peace, inclusion, and development. Our work in the Somali Region demonstrates how targeted investments in skills and innovation can transform lives.
Khumbula Ndaba, Director of the ILO Country Office for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan.

The ILO’s engagement in Ethiopia reflects its global mandate to support member states in building inclusive labour markets that leave no one behind, especially in fragile and displacement-affected contexts.