The Government of Timor-Leste, the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched, on July 22nd, 2022, a US$ 6.2 million project to increase youth employment and entrepreneurship skills.
The project called “YEES – Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Skills”, will be executed over six years, between 2022 and 2027, and will be implemented in four municipalities, Díli, Baucau, Ermera and Liquiçá.
The YEES project will be funded by KOIKA and will have UNDP as the main implementing entity, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry (MTCI), the Secretariat of State for Professional Training and Employment (SEFOPE), the Institute of Support to the Development of Entrepreneurship (IADE), the Secretariat of State for Youth and Sports (SEJD) and other entities such as the National Bank of Commerce of Timor-Leste (BNCTL).
The project aims to overcome the lack of sustainable opportunities and increase young people’s capacity for employment and self-employment. It will focus on two main strands. Firstly, it will increase young people’s ability to find employment by improving their social skills, providing counselling and information on work and work experience through internship opportunities. Secondly, it aims to increase job creation by fostering entrepreneurship among young people with entrepreneurship training, business competition and financial access through a low-interest loan guarantee scheme.
The launching ceremony consisted of the signing of a partnership agreement between KOICA and the Government of Timor-Leste, represented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes. This was followed by the signature of the donation agreement between KOICA and UNDP Timor-Leste, and the signature of the project document between UNDP and the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, represented by the Vice Minister of Commerce and Industry, Domingos Lopes Antunes.
The two members of the Government, in their interventions, thanked KOIKA and UNDP for the joint effort in the development of the project.
The Vice Minister mentioned some of the most pressing issues among the youth, such as lack of financial literacy and mathematical skills, basic accounting, bookkeeping and management skills, which are essential in developing a business.
The Finance Minister highlighted the importance of human capital for attracting investment and reducing poverty.
The UNDP acting resident representative in Timor-Leste, Lazima Onta-Bhatta, expressed her deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Government of Timor-Leste, especially MTCI, SEFOPE, IADE, SEJD, as well as KOICA and BNCTL for the guidance and contributions to the development of this project.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Timor-Leste, Jeong Ho Kim, said that the YEES Project integrates the collaborative work that has been carried out between Korea and Timor-Leste in the area of economic development and employment. The diplomat expressed his wish that the YEES project can solve the problems of youth unemployment in Timor-Leste, as well as improve the employment skills of the Timorese youth.
The Vice Minister of Finance, António Freitas, the Secretary of State for Professional Training and Employment, Alarico de Rosário, (SEFOPE), the Director of KOIKA in Timor-Leste, Eunju Cha, General Directors, Executive Directors, Directors of SEFOPE, IADE, MTCI and development partners also participated in the ceremony.