Vocational training provided to young Timorese people is based on labor and skills needs in the job market, according to The National Director for Secretariat of State for Vocational Training, Policy and Employment (SEPFOPE), Paulo Alves.
He said that previous experience had shown that after receiving training many young people still struggled to find employment.
Alves said job opportunities in Timor-Leste were limited and therefore the training provided was now based on market needsso that jobseekers could go directly into employment once they finished.
He said it was important to identify what needs existed in rural areas, so that young people living in the communities could receive appropriate training and develop their potential.
Young people in Ermera municipality, for example, could receive training and machinery to help them make bricks from the red soil found in the area, said Alves.
He added that SEPFOPE continued to prepare people for jobs both in Timor-Leste and abroad.
He said jobs were also being offered through work programs inAustralia and South Korea, which aimed to address high unemployment rates.
He also called on young people who had completed training courses but not yet found jobs to contact SEPFOPE about the auto-employment program, which provides funding for youth projects.
The National Parliament allocated $2.1 million for the vocational training program, managed by the Human Capital Development Funds.
However, MP Ilda Maria da Conceicao said training provided to young people remained inadequate and that the labor market was still dominated by overseas workers.
“We spend a lot money for training, but in fact there are still many foreigners that come and work in our country,” she said.
She said parliament had recommended that SEPFOPE provide comprehensive training in job skills, etiquette and discipline so that young Timorese can compete in the job market.
