(ERGO) – It was only after Somali university graduate Mohamed Kafi Ali took a hands-on technical skills course that he was finally able to find a job in Mogadishu’s saturated employment market.
His business administration degree, earned in 2017 from University of Somalia, did not open any doors for him. He signed on at Buruuj vocational training school for a course in electronics and refrigerator repairs, and got his first job at Guled furniture company in December 2019.
Mohamed says employers clearly preferred those with vocational skills. He now supports his family on a $300 salary.
“When I graduated from university, I applied for several jobs but I didn’t manage to get one. You know that government jobs are given through connections and there are few other white-collar jobs, so that pushed me to look towards skill-based jobs,” said Mohamed.
Mohamed’s parents advised him to train at Buruuj and paid the $20 monthly fees for his seven month course. He urges others to do the same and increase their chances of employment, instead of waiting for office jobs.
“It is rare to find a university graduate with vocational skills and the few that are there are well taken care of by their employers as they don’t want them to leave. I got job offers myself before I even completed my vocational training classes,” he said.
Economics graduate Mohamed Abdirahman Muse opened his own electrical appliance repair centre in 2019 with $1,000 start-up capital from his parents. He now employees seven young people, all of whom he trained on the job.
Mohamed, a father of two, joined Buruuj vocational school in 2018, two years after graduating from the University of Mogadishu.
“I went to almost every office in the city looking for a job, but I didn’t manage to find one. Then I decided to become self-employed and went for vocational skills training,” he said.
He doubts that he would have reached where he is now if he had pursued his search for a professional career. He knew he would earn more being his own boss.
“I am making enough to support myself and my family while also providing a lifeline job to the youth who are working with me,” he said.
Several vocational schools in Mogadishu train people without any formal education and students educated to high school level. Buruuj, however, has found a niche with courses specially targeting university students and graduates.
The head of student affairs at Buruuj, Abdirizak Mohamed Abdirashid, told Radio Ergo that they introduced courses for graduates to meet demand from those wanting to learn technical skills in order to find jobs.
He stated that 314 out of the 429 students trained at the school in the last four years were currently in employment. The school takes in around 180 students a year, and works with local firms offering job contracts while students are undergoing their training.
