Last week, the final evaluation mission of the Enhancing Capacities for Institutions Building (ECIB) Program took place in Gaza and the West Bank. The mission was headed by external international evaluator; Mr.Sergij Gabršček, and by local expert Dr. Ziad Jweiles.

The mission’s aim was to evaluate the interventions of the program in Palestine During their two-week visit,  several meetings and field visits were arranged with partners and stakeholders from TVET institutions, ministries, chambers and unions in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Tulkarem, Jerusalem and Gaza.

Two parallel schedules were arranged for the evaluators, where Mr. Sergij Gabršček was able to meet the Enabel team in Gaza for the first time and  met with partners like Work Without Borders (WWB), IRADA Centre, Abd Al Motee AlRayes Vocational School and The University College of Applied Science (UCAS), Rafah VTC, Hani Naeem, and  Deir Al Balah VTC as well as the graduates from the WBL and CVET programmes, representatives from the ministries, PFI, PITA, GIZ and IRPAL.

Mr.Sergij Gabršček and Dr. Ziad Jweiles also had the opportunity to meet with many relevant partners and successful projects  in the West Bank, such as Bethlehem Star, Beit Jala VTC, Halhoul VTC, Deir Debwan, SVS, PTC Ramalah, YMCA Ramallah, Jenin ISS and VTC, Tulkarem ISS and VTC, YMCA Jerusalem, the ministries, FPCCI, PFI  and the Chambers of Commerce in Bethlehem and Hebron as well as partner companies, trainees and graduates.

On the 27th of February, the Belgian Consulate General and the Steering Committee of the ECIB Program: MoFP, MoEHE, MoL, the Palestinian Federation of Chambers of Commerce, the Palestinian Federation of Industry, Residential Representative of Enabel and the project staff were debriefed on the preliminary findings of the final evaluation mission of the project collected during their two week visit in the West Bank and Gaza. The International evaluation expert Sergij Gabršček and local expert Dr. Ziad Jweiles highlighted the positive results of the project as well as the progress that has been made on the integration of the Work-Based Learning approach on a national level.

Sergij Gabršček: “The project has proven to be relevant, both in objectives and outputs, and meets the priorities of the local government. The private sector was involved, which allowed for programs adapted to the needs of the labour market. There is now a continuous dialogue between the private sector and the TVET providers as well as a feeling of ownership (…) The project reached more trainees than initially planned, with twice as many female graduates as anticipated (…) After the programme, there was more trust between the trainees, the TVET institutions and the private sector and more engagement to continue the initiatives”

Dr. Ziad Jweiles: “Enabel really listens to the stakeholders. The WBL has changed the mindset in the field. Now we have the mandate and the power to continue.”