In collaboration with the Baghdad Women’s Association and UN Women, Earthlink hosted a group of Iraqi university students to provide them two months of vocational training. 

The vocational training is part of the “employ for work project” that aims to provide every female student with the opportunity to work as a junior employee in Earthlink so she can build skills and expertise, and to cope with the work environment. Moreover, it provides economic support to young people and enables them to get suitable jobs in the labor market.

The institutional communication department at Earthlink confirmed during their speech at the launching: “We are aware of the scale of the difficulties young graduates face as they seek employment. Lack of experience is perhaps the most prominent of these problems because skills and expertise are required in the labor market. This project and other similar projects set up by Earthlink represent a solution to the problem of having experience by offering students the basic expertise necessary in their fields of work. Also, we help them understand the labor market, and bridge the gap resulting from the lack of applied education, and explanation and clarification in the Educational institutions.”

He added: “Private-sector training workshops can provide students with general understanding, as they give them up-to-date information that keeps track of the renewing labor market which often rely on experiences. Therefore, the student acquires the necessary experience, which may qualify her for the proper job.”

How can young graduates overcome the obstacle of inexperience?

Mouj Suleiman, a graduate of the Technological University, department of production and mineral engineering, and one of the participants in the training said: “lack of experience represents the biggest obstacle to young graduates. This obstacle can be overcome through employment and other training activities conducted by civil society organizations and private sector companies. It can be carried out by providing experience resulting from practice during training.”

She continued: “I have chosen to participate in Earthlink training as one of the largest telecommunications companies in Iraq, and this sector is one of the most important sectors in Iraq right now. This training can increase my chances of getting a job in telecommunications companies by 70% because I will spend two months of learning in the corridors of Earthlink by doing real work, which will give me the necessary experience.”

She added: “If I’m lucky, Earthlink may choose me to work as permanent staff after the two-month training period is over, and I’d be very happy with that.”

What is employment for the work activity project?

A three-day training workshop for 60 young graduates who seek jobs. The course covered how to create a CV and an introduction to the nature of work in the private sector. The project, funded by UN Women, was then presented to participants after selecting a group of companies for two months of vocational training. The training is divided into two parts, the first representing an explanation and training that lasts for a week or two. The second enables participation to have actual work experience under the supervision of trainers.

Mays Tarek, a student at the University Of Technology- Department Of Communications Engineering, said that a big difference between university courses and what companies in the sector apply can lead to a knowledge gap that may confuse young graduates and stand in the way of getting a job. “For example, let’s mention the networks and the big difference in the information we have received in this course and the information currently provided by Earthlink. This is because university teaching methods that do not rely heavily on the application, and are more interested in preserving and recalling abstract information, and teaching materials that need constant modernization may hinder the fate of a student who was interested in obtaining the certificate only during that stage.”

Vocational training themes

Ali Sabah, a trainer from The Earthlink’s sales department, explains that vocational training has involved teaching participants everything to work. We mention ways to communicate with agents by phone or via The Earthlink’s Ticket system, solve their problems, and fully answer their queries.

He continued: “The training also included teaching participants the basics of work in the Earthlink Wi-Fi section, a free service that provides internet in more than 1,600 public places. Participants were taught site detection, identification, photographing and evaluation skills, complete all procedures for activating the Internet and managing the site, and providing technical support in the event of a problem, as well as the continuous delivery of packing cards to the site.”

He concluded by saying: “The distribution of female students to the various departments of Earthlink, and in each department, different information is provided according to the nature of the work. All trainers make sure that participants learn the full skills in preparation for the application phase where they will be asked to start working.”

The Baghdad Women’s Association, which began its work in 2004, works to reduce violence against women and girls by providing all the necessary support services to survivors of violence, advocating for the implementation of appropriate government policies, laws and programs, and working to increase women’s political participation by developing Knowledge-based leadership, development and capacity building.