Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs trainers begin intensive training on ILO’s flagship business management programme- Start and Improve Your Business

Baghdad, Iraq (ILO News) A ten-day Training of Trainers programme for trainers of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs began in Baghdad on Monday (August 14), focusing on ILO’s Start and Improve Your Business programme – designed for those who want to start or improve their small businesses.

A total of twenty-two trainers from across governorates will be supported to obtain their certification as trainers of the flagship business management training programme. They will initially train 400 women and men who are looking to start or expand their own small and medium enterprises - including entrepreneurs from Forcibly Displaced Populations.

Start and Improve Your Business programme is a system of inter-related training packages and supporting materials for small-scale entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses, which reaches thousands of entrepreneurs across the world each year. It is structured into four separate training packages, which are designed to respond to the progressive stages of business development - Generate Your Business Idea, Start Your Business, Improve Your Business, and Expand Your Business.

The training programme falls within the priorities of the Decent Work Country Programme , implemented by the ILO, the Government of Iraq and social partners to support private sector development and entrepreneurship in Iraq. It is being implemented by the ILO under the PROSPECTS Partnership , which is funded by the Government of the Netherlands, as part of a financial inclusion initiative launched in 2021 to support entrepreneurial pathways for refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and host community members.

Addressing the trainees during the opening day of the training, ILO Country Coordinator for Iraq, Maha Kattaa highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship development, enabling owners of small and medium enterprises, especially youth, to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to develop, manage and grow their businesses.

“Training and certifying a cadre of trainers from the Ministry will help institutionalize the programme within the Ministry. We hope that the success of this initiative will be a stepping stone to expand the horizons of entrepreneurship in Iraq, leading to the wider use of this model to support the development of the private sector and create sustainable and decent job opportunities for young women and men,” Kattaa added.

The training is in line with the government Riyada' initiative for development and employment, launched by Prime Minister in March of this year, which focuses on providing training and financial support for young men and women to start and develop their businesses.

“We thank all our trainers from the governorates for participating in the Start and Improve Your Business Training of Trainers. These trainings and programmes are essential in developing the capacities of our cadres (of trainers),” said Abbas Fadel, Director General of the Department of Labour and Vocational Training at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

“Trainings are the essence of everything. In order to develop the labour market, we must continue to develop the skills of our trainers. Moving forward, you will be tasked with conducting these trainings, and the impact of this work will be felt in the labour market and among our youth,” Fadel continued.

Following the completion of the initial Training of Trainers (TOT) programme, trainers will begin delivering the training package to young entrepreneurs, under the supervision of ILO’s Master Trainer.

Under PROSPECTS’ financial inclusion initiative, the ILO has also been collaborating with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Federal Iraq in advancing financial education among youth in Iraq. This is being done through the creation of a pool of trainers across Iraq in Financial Education who in return are training young women and men on financial literacy.