Tikrit’s Vocational Training Centre reopens, after destruction by ISIL

Initially built in 2009, the facility in Tikrit was an important centre for vocational skilling in Iraq as it reached over 2,500 people every year. The facility consists of the main building containing eight workshops for training courses and an administrative office. During the liberation from ISIL, most of the workshops were left severely damaged.

Through the Funding Facility for Stabilization, UNDP rehabilitated the entire building, including civil, sanitary, mechanical, and electrical works. Today, the facility can run over eight training programmes at any time. UNDP will further supply furniture and workshop equipment for the centre in the coming months.

The facility will serve people seeking employment who are officially registered with the Salah al-Din Directorate of Labor and Social. It includes courses in repairing household appliances, hairdressing, plumbing and sanitary works, sewing, mobile phone maintenance, carpentry, repair and maintenance of air conditioning, working with aluminum, electronics and electrical works, and car mechanics.

“As new forms of instability arise due to the lack of livelihood opportunities in Iraq, this centre will be instrumental in providing technical and vocational courses to those most vulnerable or unable to access higher education. We hope that the centre will equip people with the practical and required skills to enter the job market or start their businesses,” says UNDP’s Resident Representative in Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad.

“We are extremely grateful to our longest-standing partner, the Federal Republic of Germany, for generously funding this project. We are proud to support critical areas, such as security sector and livelihoods in Iraq. We look forward to continuing our work together to build a stable and prosperous Iraq,” she adds.

The Almazra’a police station in Baiji, Salah al-Din, was also inaugurated today. The spacious and purpose-built facility has the capacity to serve around 35,000 citizens. Both the facilities were rehabilitated through the Funding Facility for Stabilization with support from the Federal Republic of Germany. While the furniture and equipment for the vocational training centre is funded by generous contributions from Norway.

Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Philip Holzapfel, German Embassy Baghdad says, “We are pleased to see that two central places of community life in Salah al-Din Governorate have been rebuilt thanks to German contributions. Speaking to people here we understand how much it means to them that the rehabilitated vocational training center in Tikrit will encourage people to acquire knowledge and skills. This will contribute to the development of a much-needed private sector and thus to empower Iraqis to build the future of their communities here in Salah al-Din.”

“We also admire the reconstruction of the Almazra’a police station in Baiji – a place that represents the rule of law and makes it tangible for citizens, where trust in good governance can be being built day by day. We encourage the Salah al-Din Governorate to make the most of these facilities so that they can be of long-lasting benefit to the people of Salah al-Din,” he adds.

Since 2015, through the Funding Facility for Stabilization, UNDP has completed around 3,400 stabilization projects across the liberated areas of Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salah Al-Din. The programme has supported the safe and dignified return of more than 4.9 million displaced people to their place of origin.