A new generation of young Somali women are rewriting the country's employment story, thanks to technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
With support from the African Development Bank Group's Skills for Employability, Inclusion and Productivity (SEIP) Project, women trainees are gaining market-relevant technical and entrepreneurial skills and converting them into livelihoods that power inclusive, climate-resilient growth.
The impact is already visible.
Take, 22-year-old Sabriin Gedi. At home and unemployed following secondary school, she applied for a SEIP Project scholarship, with the hopes of pursuing her "dream career" in renewable energy. Following an interview process, she was awarded a scholarship and enrolled in a renewable energy course at the Industrial Vocational Training Centre (IVTC) in Mogadishu. Here she learnt practical skills in solar power systems installation, operation, and maintenance.
"The SEIP project has changed my life," Gedi said. "This course has equipped me with the knowledge and confidence to pursue meaningful employment or even start my own business while contributing to Somalia's growing renewable energy sector."
Feeling inspired by events so far, Gedi plans to further her studies and become an electrical engineer.
She adds: "Now I am skilled enough to fix solar panels and related solar equipment, earn a sustainable living and financially support myself and my family." She encourages other girls to pursue their aspirations saying: "Education and skills-building are the strongest tools a girl can use to protect and empower herself."
Salma Noor, 19, completed a SEIP-sponsored ICT course at the same training centre in 2024 and proudly describes herself as self-sufficient since graduating with multimedia skills in web design, graphic design and video editing.
Salma Noor, 19, designs a graphic using professional designing software, a skill she developed during her studies at the Mogadishu Industrial Vocational Training Centre.
"I have the know-how to design websites and use a range of computer programs independently and collaborate with partners," she said. "I am confident these skills will help me earn a living and support my family," she says.
Developing a skilled youth workforce in Somalia
Since its launch in 2023, the SEIP Project in Somalia, financed by the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the AfDB Bank Group, and implemented by the country's Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, has focused on expanding the access and quality of technical and vocational education. It supports institutional capacity building and provides practical and job-ready skills to Somali youth. SEIP's design deliberately integrates climate-relevant skillsets and industry partnerships to boost both self-employment and wage employment.
About 73% of Somalia's population is under age 30 and roughly 50% is under age 15, making Somalia one of the world's youngest nations. However, its youth unemployment rate stands at 33.8% compared to the national unemployment rate (19%), with female youth unemployment estimated at 40.8% percent.
Turning this potential into jobs requires a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system that is accessible, high-quality, and tightly linked to industry demands, especially for girls and young women who have long faced barriers to entry.
Halima Abubakar Abdi, 25, took her entrepreneurship training, acquired through the SEIP Project, and combined it with her passion for agriculture to carve out her own unique path.
Equipped with a business plan, financial management skills and production capacities, she began an agribusiness cultivating tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, onions, capsicum, and lemons, and established market linkages to sell her products.
"I am applying the knowledge I acquired in class to guide my work, especially on how to develop a business plan. It has helped me plan how to sell my produce in the market and establish linkages once the harvest is ready," she said.
To date, 307 youth have graduated from the IVTC, 105 of them girls. Another 450 youth have just been enrolled. The project is expected to train 1,300 youth across the country, while the reforms in curricula and institutional support will indirectly impact thousands more.
SEIP Project Manager, Mohamed Hassan Haanbe said, "the goal is to develop youth who are skilled and capable of meeting the technical needs of our country so that we can build a progressive Somalia--one that drives its own development and has the capacity to utilise and produce the resources our nation needs."
AfDB Division Manager for Education and Skills Development, Hendrina Chalwe Doroba, highlights that the project reflects the Bank Group's commitment to turning demographics into a dividend, in alignment with Cardinal Point 3 of President Sidi Ould Tah's "Four Cardinal Points" strategic vision, and investing in youth and women, as the primary engine of an inclusive and resilient growth for the continent.
"Accelerating employability and job creation for women and girls through market-oriented skills enhancement is central to inclusive growth and sustainable development in Somalia and across the continent," she adds.
