The big dream of Amal (28) was to study in order to open a Beauty salon and provide her family with a better living. However, she was never able to continue her education because her parents couldn’t afford it. Later on she got married and had three kids, but due to the illness of her partner and the fact that she needed to take care of the kids, she was still not able to continue studying.  

Finally, early this year, thanks to a scholarship programme from the Work Based Learning programme of the Belgian Development Agency (BTC) she was able to follow the Hairdressing and Beautification course in the Bethlehem Star Charitable Society. Together with 20 other people she was selected for the grant. Recently, she has opened her own Beauty salon.

 
The other students who followed the same course as she did were also rather successful. In total, two more girls are now running their own salons, and almost 80% of the graduates are now employed in salons, or are working from home as a hairdresser.  

BTC has launched a Work Based Learning scheme that allows students of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) organizations to do an apprenticeship in the private sector as part of their studies. To facilitate the access of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups to this scheme, a matching Scholarship Fund was launched. This fund provides scholarships for underprivileged students who want to follow a training in the technical or vocational education and training sector, but would otherwise not have the means to cover tuition fees, transportation, insurance or other costs related to their training. The Work Based Learning programme has proven to be a huge success: more than 80% of students who graduate from the programme, find a job immediately after their studies.