Our stories. Find out more about our work towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

By: Mennatallah Homaid | Senior Communication Assistant with IOM YemenTa’iz, Yemen More than 11 years of conflict and economic hardship have reshaped everyday life in Yemen. Displacement, economic decline, and damaged public infrastructure have placed immense pressure on families, while shrinking livelihood options and increasing competition for work have made it harder to secure a stable income. For a generation of young people, years of disruption to education and skills training have narrowed pathways to employment and added to the uncertainty surrounding their future.Yasser Abdullah Saeed has witnessed these changes firsthand in Al-Turbah, Ta’iz, where he serves as Manager of the Technical and Vocational Training Centre (TVTC).“Many families lost their breadwinners or sources of income. Their youth often resorted to begging or joining the frontlines. Their future was almost lost,” he says.For Yasser, that role begins with giving young people skills they can use to earn a living. The TVTC in Al-Turbah is the only vocational training centre in the area, serving students from As Shamaytain and surrounding districts, including Mawasel, Al Ma’afer and Al Maqaterah. It serves around 400–500 students across nine vocational departments, preparing them to enter the workforce, pursue self-employment, or establish small businesses that serve their communities. But years of underinvestment had steadily weakened the centre’s ability to provide quality practical education. Equipment and furniture had worn out; curricula no longer kept pace with labour market needs, and many departments lacked the raw materials needed for hands-on training.“Many of the departments also had no raw materials, so we tried to provide these through personal efforts. Most of the donations we received were spent on buying diesel to provide electricity to the centre,” says Yasser.The situation at Al-Haseb Technical and Vocational Training Centre was even more severe. Established in 1976 and serving seven districts, the centre suspended educational activities for three years after extensive damage left it without essential facilities, including equipment and furniture. Yet demand for vocational education remained high.“Every year, more than 1,500 students apply, yet only around 500 can be admitted,” says Ameen Ahmed, an IOM Supervisor Engineer at Al-Haseb TVTC.For young people who cannot afford higher education, vocational training offers an accessible route to skills they can use to earn an income. These skills also help communities maintain access to essential services provided by skilled workers.“The centre builds the capacity of young people and enables them to learn income-generating skills like carpentry, electrical maintenance and sewing, among many others,” says Ameen. Against this backdrop, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with support from the Government of Japan, rehabilitated and equipped six Technical and Vocational Training Centres (TVTCs) across three governorates—Ta’iz, Aden and Lahj—to expand access to practical, market-oriented skills for young people. In Ta’iz, IOM rehabilitated and equipped two TVTCs, restoring safe and functional spaces where young people can prepare for employment or self-employment. Together, Al Haseb and Al Turbah TVTCs serve more than 2,000 students, including 1,926 men and 173 women.  Across the two centres, IOM rehabilitated classrooms, workshops, laboratories, toilets and administrative spaces, constructed new classrooms and workshops, and provided furniture and technical equipment for the vocational departments. At Al-Turbah, the intervention also included a solar power system to help meet the centre’s electricity needs, while Al-Haseb received additional facilities and equipment after years of disruption.“The centre had no furniture, no equipment, nothing,” says Naser Mohammed, an IOM Supervisor Engineer who worked on the rehabilitation of Al-Turbah TVTC.  The investment also focused on the people who will continue delivering vocational education. IOM provided capacity-building training to 72 TVTC teaching staff to strengthen their teaching methods and support safer, more inclusive learning environments. A further 20 entrepreneurship trainers took part in a Training of Trainers (ToT) on Business Development Services, receiving updated materials to help them equip future trainees with the skills needed to start and sustain small businesses.Alongside the rehabilitation, IOM provided market-oriented vocational training to 220 students across the two TVTCs in Ta’iz, including 144 women and 76 men. Participants also received employability training, Business Development Services training and relevant start-up kits containing tools related to their trades.For young people trying to earn a living while building a future, those tools can make a practical difference.  Amjad Al Swaydy was displaced from Salam Al Rawn to Ta’iz in 2020 and now lives in Sallah district. He works on a motorbike while studying and joined IOM’s mobile phone maintenance training at Al-Haseb TVTC to gain a skill he could use to earn additional income.“I can work anywhere now with a new skill in hand. I can go out and open a small shop, starting with the equipment I got from IOM, and grow my business,” he says.With the equipment provided through the programme, Amjad hopes to expand his business, earn enough to support himself and his mother, and eventually return to university.Haneen Abdo was among the trainees seeking new opportunities to support their families. Displaced with her family from Maqbanah district to Ta’iz City in 2018, she has five children to support and joined the training to strengthen her sewing skills.“I have the basic sewing skills, but I still need to learn how to make a business out of it and expand my skills,” she says. The training has given Haneen a stronger foundation to turn her sewing skills into a source of income for her family. As she looks ahead to building her own business, she hopes to expand the equipment available to her.“I am hoping to make a business after this to support my family. I hope I can receive a sewing machine.”  The changes in Ta’iz form part of a broader IOM and Government of Japan investment in Yemen’s vocational education system. Across Ta’iz, Aden and Lahj, the project rehabilitated six TVTCs and is expected to benefit around 3,000 people, including internally displaced people and members of host communities.Across the six TVTCs, the project constructed or rehabilitated 51 classrooms, rehabilitated 31 workshops and 10 laboratories, and equipped 17 workshops and 13 laboratories with training equipment and tools to support practical learning.For Yasser, the value of restoring the centre ultimately lies in what young people can do with the skills they gain.“The vocational training offered them a chance to build a future.”