The Good Samaritan Training Center (GSTC) in Addis Ababa provides vocational training to poor and marginalised women. The goal is to empower young women to create a better life for themselves and their children. A key to this is to give them training that provides them with relevant skills that match the needs of the local labour market.
PfC is partnering with The Good Samaritan Training Center to help women receive relevant vocational training. GSTC has been practicing vocational training for 14 years. In collaboration with PfC, they have expanded their business so that they can now provide vocational training to 210 women per year, so that they become part of the country’s workforce.
At GSTC, training is provided within three disciplines ; textiles / nails, cooking / catering and hairdressing / beauty care. Participants are recruited on the basis of socio-economic criteria. They have very low or no income. Many are single mothers. The project is tailor-made to provide them with expertise that is in demand locally. The goal is for them to earn their own money and create a better life for themselves and their children. At the graduation in the summer of 2019, all the students from the textile line was offered a job at a local textile factory.
As of 2019, 210 women participate annually in the project. It is three shifts daily – day, afternoon and evening. Besides maximizing the capacity of the center, this ensures that the women can follow the training alongside other commitments. Such obligations may include taking care of children or other family members, as well as any income-generating activities, for example as day laborers.
The Good Samaritan Training Center is fully equipped to provide women with relevant training and practice.
In addition to contributing to the development of the project itself, PfC is working to help the business of GSTC to become economically sustainable. PfC has contributed to the development of a model for combining vocational training and income-generating activities. This has resulted in a plan for participants in the program to run a bakery and café. PfC has invested in these businesses. The goal is for the center to become economically independent in the future by earning income from bakery and café to finance the operation of the training business. The bakery is now operational, and cafe operations are under planning.
