Vocational Training for Young Women, Addis Ababa

In Ethiopia, the illiteracy rate is over 60% and girls attend school on average only about half as long as boys. Traditional social role models and a lack of financial resources mean that girls and young women from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in particular are denied the chance of further education. As a result, the everyday life of many women in Addis Ababa is characterised by poverty and dependence on the family.

In order to break out of this spiral, our partner organisation PROJECT-E in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, offers young disadvantaged women a chance of vocational training and thus enables them to lead a better life. In the PROJECT-E Hospitality Institute young women are trained in the field of hotel management (“Hotel Operations”). PROJECT-E also offers a four-month short-term training course with accredited training in housekeeping. This enables the graduates to start their professional life and provides them with the basis for further training and a qualification that leads to a higher income.

The project focuses exclusively on the promotion of women from socially precarious backgrounds.

The number of direct beneficiaries consists of 40 female students of the long-term program “Hotel Operations” (two cohorts of 20 female students each), as well as 80 female students of the short-term training in Housekeeping and Food Preparation and Catering Services (twice a year with 20 female students each). The project thus supports a total of 120 female students per year. The students of the long-term program are between 18 and 25 years old and the students of the short-term programs are between 20 and 30 years old.

The aim of the project is to provide socially disadvantaged Ethiopian women with free and practical hotel management training. Through internships in local hotels, they can gain initial professional experience and establish contacts for employment after completing their training. A special focus is placed on language skills and communication training. The programme also includes life skills training and workshops on self-confidence, health and women’s rights. As a second branch of training, housekeeping training aims to facilitate access to the profession or to further training in a four-month short-term training course.

On the one hand, the training in hotel management is aimed at women aged 18-25 who, due to their socio-economic situation, cannot afford the further training necessary to enter the labour market. On the other hand, training in housekeeping is aimed at young women aged 20-30. These women also live in precarious conditions for various reasons, for example single mothers, women returning from abroad or with physical or mental disabilities. By strengthening the role of women in the long term, other women in the region also benefit from the project.

By educating young women from poor backgrounds, the project contributes directly to the sustainable improvement of their social and economic situation, including that of their families and the project staff. Another goal is therefore to improve the living conditions of the people in the students’ immediate community.

The project promotes awareness of environmental sustainability among both female students and staff.  It aims to raise awareness of the state of the planet, climate change and the consequences for the country and the individual lives of the students. In addition to raising awareness, it aims to promote environmentally friendly behavior in the workplace and in personal life.