240 youths to benefit from peace, skills project

MTWARA: SOME 240 young people from four regions will undergo vocational and entrepreneurship training under a new peacebuilding initiative aimed at reducing unemployment, promoting self-employment and strengthening social cohesion.

The beneficiaries from Mtwara, Lindi, Ruvuma and Kigoma will receive training under the Dumisha Amani project funded by the United Nations Peace and Development Fund (UNPDF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Tanzania), the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) and China Petroleum Pipeline (CPP).

The programme targets graduates who completed both long and short vocational courses at the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) within the past three years.

Launching the programme at VETA Mtwara Centre on Monday, Senior Curriculum Development Officer at VETA, Ms Alphoncina Mshana, representing the Director General, said the initiative seeks to equip young people with practical technical skills and life skills that will enable them to secure employment or establish their own businesses.

The two-week training programme will be conducted at VETA centres in the respective districts and will cover electrical installation, laboratory technology, cookery and food decoration, alongside entrepreneurship and life skills.

Ms Mshana said empowering young people with employable skills is one of the most effective ways of promoting peace and sustainable development.

“When young people acquire employable skills and generate income through employment or self-employment, they become productive members of society and help sustain peace. Where there are limited opportunities, young people can easily become vulnerable to activities that threaten peace and stability,” she said.

She noted that participants will also receive entrepreneurship training to enable them to establish small businesses, particularly in sectors linked to the blue economy.

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She thanked the project’s development partners for supporting youth empowerment, saying the initiative would strengthen livelihoods while contributing to national peace and economic growth.

UNDP Tanzania Project Manager, Ms Lin Chen, said the programme combines peacebuilding knowledge with vocational skills to prepare young people to become ambassadors of peace in their communities.

“The training will equip participants with peacebuilding knowledge to help prevent conflict, promote tolerance and strengthen unity, while practical vocational skills will enable them to earn a living and contribute to economic development,” she said.

Ms Chen stressed that peace and development are inseparable, noting that sustainable development cannot be achieved without peace, while lasting peace depends on creating opportunities for young people.

CPP Executive Director, Mr Bai Zhengdshuai, said the company remains committed to fulfilling its corporate social responsibility through investment in youth skills development.

He said CPP has so far trained 435 young people and employees, awarded scholarships to 64 beneficiaries, provided practical industrial training opportunities to 102 trainees and trained 27 instructors in specialised pipeline-related technical skills.

“Through the Dumisha Amani II project, we are extending these opportunities to another 180 young people in the southern regions, including 60 beneficiaries from Mtwara. Investing in youth supports both sustainable business growth and long-term community development,” he said.

Mr Bai added that the partnership between VETA, UNDP, GPF and CPP will help transform young people’s potential into productive achievements while strengthening communities and supporting Tanzania’s socio-economic development.