Background

Afghan crisis has negatively impacted on labour incomes due to decline of wage and salaried employment and the rise of self-employment. The ILO estimated that in the fourth quarter of 2022, employment to be 450,000 lower than before the transition and more than 900,000 lower compared to a hypothetical scenario without a change in administration.  The employment-to population ratio remains nearly 3 percentage points below pre-crisis levels. However, the availability of work for skilled and unskilled labour showed signs of recovery as of June 2023 partially due to a good agriculture season and an estimated 400,000 men and women are expected to enter the labour market each year and pressure on the labour market is heightened as more Afghans return and try to engage in productive employment. Female employment is estimated to be 25 per cent lower in the fourth quarter of 2022 relative to the second quarter of 2021, which compares to a decline of 7 per cent for men. Home-based self-employment has become the predominant form of women’s participation in the labour market[1].  Restrictions that limit access to secondary and higher education for young women further contribute to the disproportionate and devastating impact of the crisis on youth. Net enrolment rates of girls 13-18years in secondary schools declined from 23percent to 12percent in 2022 and there was an increase in the share of not-in-school girls aged 14-18 years who entered the labour force, either employed or looking for work, or remained out of the labour force but as inactive non-students. This is unfortunate considering that youth employment is estimated to have decreased by 25 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 relative to the second quarter of 2021[2] and that more than two out of ten persons in Afghanistan are aged 15-24 years.[3] Owing to the numerous bans, home-based self-employment has become the predominant form of women’s participation in the labour market[4] and access to income earning options is imperative for women and girl entrepreneurs.

Herat Province, Afghanistan, which was already facing severe socio-economic challenges, faced severe setbacks resulting from the October 2023 earthquakes. The powerful earthquakes and aftershocks killed about 1,500 people, affecting 154,000 people, destroying more than 50,000 homes, injuring thousands, and destroying and/or damaging infrastructure. Survivors and affected communities have been left reeling from the loss of lives and livelihoods, with the scale of destruction leaving many in a difficult situation to cope and recover. The earthquakes have exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation in the country, including the political and economic crisis, widespread poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, displacement, and human rights violations. The most vulnerable groups, such as women, children, youth, and persons with disabilities are at risk of further marginalization and exclusion.  Before the earthquake, the ILO had estimated that in the fourth quarter of 2022, employment would be 450,000 lower than before the transition and more than 900,000 lower compared to a hypothetical scenario without a change in administration.[5] In the aftermath of the earthquake, it is reasonable to expect that the number of the unemployed has significantly increased due to the destruction of businesses, enterprises, and agro-based livelihoods.

Target

The International Labour Organisation is implementing a STFA Funded project in Herat Province and the target is to train 20 females on Financial Education (FE) as trainers.

Development of Financial Education Training of Trainers

The Enterprise Development project would want to develop Financial Education women trainers in the Herat Province. The candidates should demonstrate enthusiasm of supporting a building capacity of Women in Financial Education The training will address constrains hindering participation in economic empowerment activities and access to finance.

The International Labour Office (ILO) has designed and tested responses to these challenges. Programmes like the ILO’s Financial Education (FE) have demonstrated promising results in addressing both the demand and supply of business services for small enterprises, Insurance, setting short term and long-term goals and access to finance.

Financial Education is one of the largest global business management training programmes.  It helps entrepreneurs to set short term and long-term goals, having insurance and access to finance.

Qualifying candidates will be selected to join the 10 days course “Financial Education Training of Trainers course” and expected to conduct training of entrepreneurs as part of the accreditation and certification process.

This ToT course is the first step in obtaining the certification as FE trainers. It will be facilitated by ILO certified Master Trainer and will introduce participants to both the technical content of the relevant FE package and to adult learning methodologies.

The objective of this workshop is to enable FE training providers to develop long-term business models that will allow them to function independently financially while still maintaining service quality standards that facilitate entrepreneurial development. The course will enable the participants to:

• Get a detailed understanding of the steps in introducing Financial Education.
• Understand the key differences in target groups and learning objectives of Financial Education training package.
• Be aware of the best practices in managing a FE programme, including the monitoring and evaluation tools.

The project is committed to advancing gender equality. It has envisaged that the beneficiaries would be women. Therefore, the project is dedicated to conduct training on Financial Education programme for EIIP Afghanistan & Enterprise Development beneficiaries to train women entrepreneurs in Financial Education in Herat province.

[1]Employment in Afghanistan in 2022: a rapid impact assessment, ILO Brief, 7 March 2023

[2] Employment in Afghanistan in 2022: A rapid impact Assessment, ILO Brief, March 2023

[3] ILO, Population by sex and age – UN estimates and projections, July 2022 (thousands), ILOSTAT database, accessed 27 February 2023.

[4]  Employment in Afghanistan in 2022: A rapid impact Assessment, ILO Brief, March 2023

[5] ILO, Employment in Afghanistan in 2022: A rapid impact assessment, August 2022