UNDP and Toyota capacitate displaced Iraqis to join the workforce and contribute to rebuilding the business environment
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Toyota Iraq launched a flagship job placement and vocational training programme to provide young, displaced Iraqis with access to sustainable income opportunities.
This comes nearly four months after both parties signed an agreement in Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
At the launch, Toyota Iraq’s President, Mr. Sardar H. Hasan, said:
“The Toyota Way is a standard, ideal, or guiding beacon for the global network of manufacturers, distributors and dealers. One of our basic principles is Respect for People. Wherever we do business, we actively promote and engage in social contribution activities, both individually and with partners, that help strengthen communities and contribute to the enrichment of society.
“This will be one of many Corporate Social Responsibility activities of Toyota Iraq. With our partner UNDP, our aim is to increase vocational training opportunities in auto-industry for IDPs and host communities through our Technician Development Programme.”
First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Iraq, Mr. Hirotaka Tezuka, stated:
“I wish that IDPs who lost their houses, workplaces and jobs due to terrorist attacks by ISIL can contribute to rebuilding the local business environment by utilizing the skills and know-how they obtain from this training.”
In turn, UNDP’s ICRRP Programme Manager, Ms. Mizuho Yokoi, said:
“At a time when so many people in Iraq need support from the international community, UNDP is proud to partner with Toyota, in a way which will make a real difference to the lives of these young people. In the long term, I am confident that this partnership will result in opportunities for countless young people to restart their lives in Iraq.”
Ali Homaidi, a 25-year old mechanical engineer escaped violence in Anbar with his family in 2014 and was one of the trainees. He said:
“Today life has opened a window of hope for my family. It is very difficult to find a job without practical experience and we are so grateful for this opportunity.”
UNDP’s ICRRP provides fast-track support to vulnerable families in newly liberated cities and villages where social tensions threaten community cohesion. ICRRP is currently active in eleven newly liberated communities in Diyala, Salah al-Din and Ninewah Governorates and is expected to expand to nearly 30 locations in the months ahead.
ICRRP is designed as a resilience and recovery programme to help families withstand the multi-dimensional shocks associated with post-liberation and large-scale returns.