Last week, Enabel celebrated the closing of the ECIB Work-based Learning Program in Palestine in two workshops held in Gaza and the West Bank.  

The Enhancing Capacities for Institution Building (ECIB) Program, implemented by the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) on behalf of the Belgian Development Cooperation, aimed to counter the high youth unemployment in Palestine by creating a better match between the skills offered by TVET institutions and those demanded in the labor market.  

ECIB achieved this by supporting the integration of the Work-Based Learning (WBL) apprenticeship schemes in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Palestine. Additionally, specialized Continuous Vocational Education and Training (CVET) courses were organized in close collaboration with the private sector.  

Between 2014-2018, ECIB helped to implement 82 WBL and 42 CVET initiatives in 53 TVET institutions in the West Bank and Gaza in a variety of vocations. In total, 2939 trainees participated in these initiatives and 2267 trainees were supported with scholarships, with 49% of trainees coming from a disadvantaged area (Area C, seam zone, refugee camp, East-Jerusalem or Gaza), 45% from a poor background and 35% were women. Each of these initiatives has known many success stories of graduates finding employment because of the new skills they developed during the courses.  

The program has been considered a huge success by all stakeholders and Enabel was happy to present the final results and products of the program in the presence of the Head of the Belgian Cooperation in Palestine, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Ministry of Labour and the Private Sector Federations to the participating TVET institutions, sector federations, international agencies and graduates.  

We would like to thank all our stakeholders for participating in this program!