Dar es Salaam. On 20 April 2022, 90 apprentices aged 15 to 25 started their three-month theoretical training at the JKU Vocational Training Centre. The programme will last 6 months in total and trainees are expected to graduate in one of the three occupations approved by the Government of Zanzibar, including air conditioning and refrigeration, carpentry and tailoring. In the second half of the programme, apprentices will participate in on-the-job training to gain relevant skills and work experience in their respective occupations to compete in the labour market or become self-employed.

The second phase of the modular apprenticeship programme came after the successful conclusion of the previous intake on 29 May 2021. Compared to the previous phase, the programme has expanded by including an additional occupation, which is tailoring. The addition of more traditionally female-based occupations to the programme in Zanzibar, as well as more inclusive advocacy, including through the advertisement of the programme, has resulted in achieving gender parity in the intake.

Much of the informal sector in Zanzibar is made up of a workforce with low levels of formal education and training. According to the Integrated Labour Force Survey 2020/21, over 33 percent of Zanzibar’s youth population is unemployed. The Government of Zanzibar has therefore identified apprenticeship programmes as a way to curb youth unemployment and lack of formal training.

In addition, the government has planned to expand the programme by committing financial resources but also by considering additional occupations in this programme, including welding, decoration, mechanical, aluminium and glasswork, aquaculture, and livestock keeping. The objective is to reach 500 youth not in education, employment, or training to be trained in the selected occupations by the end of 2022.

The modular apprenticeship programme is supported by the ILO through the Global Programme on Skills and Lifelong Learning (GPSL3), which is financially supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).