Khaled Al-Hilaly
Published:19-04-2010
SANA'A, April 18 - Twenty-five trainers from vocational institutes in various governorates attended a two-day long workshop on life skills in Sana'a organized by Access plus program to reduce child labor.
Mariha Abu Jaber, a vocational trainer, from Hodeida said she learnt about teaching her students active learning skills and how she as a teacher can learn from them.
"Some students understand quickly, so I help them explaining to their mates, "she said.
Mai Salameh, executive director of Injaz Al-Arab in Yemen, said that vocational students learn skills but they fears the market and it is difficult for them to find opportunities.
"The training helps vocational students to create opportunities and start their own projects," said Salameh. "They are trained on how to on make a budget for their projects, the procedures they should follow, as well as leadership skills."
The training focuses on collaborative education skills in which the student is the essential element in learning. Trainees learned about the difference between traditional and collaborative learning methods.
Nancy Refki, trainer from Injaz Al-Arab, presented collaborative leaning techniques including role play, group projects, discussions and joint problem solving. She explained to trainees how collaborative learning can be useful in discovering students' talents unlike traditional teacher-student method.
Hayat Aqil, sewing teacher working with 23 female students in Taiz, said that she learned how to manage group works, make all students participate and give the positive ideas they have.
The Access-plus started in 2008 and ends in 2011 aims to exclude 4,100 children from the worst forms of child labor like construction or spraying pesticides. It also prevents another 3,000 children from joining labor market and encourages them to stay in schools.
The Access-plus is a program designed to reduce child labor in a partnership with the CHF international and Charitable Social Society Welfare (CSSW) funded by the US Department of Labor. It works in governorates child labor is widespread especially in agriculture and fishery.
The governorates are Aden, Hodeida, Taiz, and Hajja. The latest in particular is on the child trafficking route to Saudi Arabia.
Jamal Al-Hadi, Access-plus project manager, said that the impact of such training is significant on students who have received training and their success stories indicate that their lives have completely changed for the better.
He added that the training was for trainers to apply the concepts on their students.
He refers to some of beneficiaries in Hodeida who have received tools to start their own projects and who have improved their families' lives.
They are now successful in their projects, young men working in electrical wiring and young women work in hair dressing. Injaz Al-Arab is an educational organization that aims to equip Arab students in 12 countries across the Middle East and North Africa with practical business-related skills as part of the regular educational curriculum.