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Palestine
Bilal (20) lives in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. He
comes from a wealthy family, but just as thousands of other young men from
his generation, he couldn’t find a job.
When he was not admitted at university, his uncle offered him to work in his blacksmith workshop. The work
was tiresome, but Bilal was happy to learn a skill and earn some money. Unfortunately, his uncle
died soon after Bilal started to work for him,
which left him without anyone able to teach him the craft of becoming a blacksmith.
Bilal decided to enroll at the
Rafah Vocational Training Center (VTC). This center is part of the Work Based
Learning (WBL) initiatives supported by the Belgian Development Cooperation.
This means that students combine theoretical classes at the center with an
internship in the private sector.
“The
training enabled me to master all the skills necessary for becoming a blacksmith,
and the learning process was much faster thanks to the training in the private
sector. I was very lucky to learn from specialists and experts with a long
experience in the field. The fact that I enrolled in the VTC in Rafah was among
the best decisions I have ever made.”
Bilal has impressed his teachers and
colleagues with his creativity and hard work. Throughout his studies, he got
information from specialists and experts with long experience in the field. He
is convinced that his decision to attend a vocational training center and the
encouragement of his parents were among the best things that happened in his
life.
While enrolled in the VTC, Bilal helped
out his neighbors and acquaintances with some small jobs at home to
gather some extra money. With the help of this pocket money, he was able to
start his own blacksmith workshop soon after graduating from the VTC in Rafah.
So far, his workshop is very small, and the number of tasks he can execute is
limited, but his dream is to be able to expand his workshop and buy more
sophisticated equipment for his blacksmith workshop.
No news