ERBIL, Kurdistan — In light of encouraging employment among youth and developing their skills, Rwanga Foundation was the main sponsor of Erbil Job Fair 2015. Erbil Manpower organized the fair in Erbil which hosted attendees such as the Representative of Prime Minister’s Office, Ali Sindi; Mohammad Qadir Howdiyani, KRG Minister of Labor and Social Affairs; Governor of Erbil, Nawzad Hadi, and US Consul General Joseph Pennington.
All diplomats and KRG representatives agreed and mentioned in their speeches that job fairs are highly relevant for youth especially in Kurdistan.
Focused on assisting youth by promoting skills needed for career development and reducing unemployment, Rwanga’s central emphasis this year regarding youth is concentrating on youth’s skills and managing finances.
Rwanga firmly believes in providing future job opportunities for youth, while encouraging recent university graduates to enter the private sectors instead of focusing on public sector jobs.
In addition Rwanga believes it necessary to:
– Encourage youth to establish their own startups and develop entrepreneurship
– Provide and organize free training courses to improve various skills for increasing employment opportunity
– And to foster a “volunteering culture” by offering opportunities for youth to get involved with an organization, and providing service to others during their free time
Many job seekers voiced interest in Rwanga’s donated skills development training and workshops.
Other key sponsors included Korek Telecom, Kar Group, fastlink and USAID Foras.
Erbil Job Fair started in 2013 and has continued ever since due to positive outcomes in supporting youth job placement and by enabling more opportunity to improve skills. By the end of 2013, unemployment reached 6.5%, and by the end of 2014 it increased to 6.8%. Due to this fact, Rwanga Foundation has been compelled to get involved and help address youth unemployment.
