50K trained in Iraq’s Kurdistan to boost private sector

Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah

Nearly 50,000 people in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region have received vocational training over the past two decades, according to a field study by the Vision (Roya) Foundation for Strategic Studies, linking the programs to expanded employment opportunities beyond the shrinking Kurdish public sector.

The study, presented on Wednesday during a workshop in Al-Sulaymaniyah, examined the work of vocational training directorates affiliated with the Kurdish Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, reviewing the range of programs they have provided in recent years.

“Trainings covered areas including vehicle driving, barbering, mobile phone maintenance, electronic repairs, and artificial intelligence technologies,” Behrouz Faridoun, the Institute’s media head, told Shafaq News, adding that the programs helped participants develop practical skills and improve their ability to compete in the labor market.

Calling for vocational training programs to be designed around market demand and for opportunities in the field to be expanded, he pointed to the growing importance of private sector employment for young people, graduates, and job seekers. Such efforts, he added, could eventually help reduce unemployment across the Kurdistan Region.

Read more: New path to jobs: Iraq’s shift toward vocational education