Title: Enhancing Youth Employment and Self-Employment through Fish Farming and Processing.
Testimonials
Target: 100 youth aged between 15-24 who are unemployed or self-employed, earning TZS 150,000 or less per month, equivalent to approximately 2 US$ per day.
Location: Morogoro municipality in Mkundi, Lukobe, Kingolwira, Mazimbu, Mlimani, Magadu, Kauzeni and Mzinga wards.
Project Summary
In Tanzania, particularly in Morogoro, we have many fish farms operated based on low levels of knowledge, meaning that the outcome from these fish farms is low and can be characterized as subsistence fish farming. Many of these farms operate as a side business for farmers and small business owners, and young people are often engaged. As the benefits from these fish farms are very low, there are minimal finances to pay the youth for their work. If the skills of these young people are improved, the benefit from the small fish farms will increase, and the youth will be in a position where they can get paid or paid more. At the same time, they will gain skills that make it possible for them to be more flexible as a workforce and get self-employment and decent jobs where this was not possible before the training.
For this reason, the proposed six (6) months project aims to create self-employment and decent jobs by equipping them with fish farming and processing skills. Technical skills will be supplemented with soft skills, internships/job placement, entrepreneurship, and mentoring so youth can create a livelihood through local self-employment and jobs.
The project targets 50 young people working in fish farms and 50 unemployed youths interested in fish farming or processing. It is upskilling for employed youths and reskilling for unemployed youths.
To make this feasible, YPO will work with beneficiaries (fish farm owners) who will: make their fish farms available to be used for delivering training to beneficiaries (youths with jobs in fish farms and unemployed youths with an interest in fish farming or processing); choose their young workers who will come and learn fish farming skills to increase productivity and revenue of farms; provide an opportunity for interns’ placement in these farms; and employ the interns just after completing the internship.
Fish farming and processing training will be held at eight centres (eight wards). There will be six trainers and two implementation phases. YPO staff will reach four wards or centers in the first and second phases. YPO trainers will follow the beneficiaries in their wards. Each ward will be handled by one trainer who will train no more than 15 trainees.
Immediately after completing the fish farming and processing training, YPO technical staff will start coaching the trainees through their workplaces in fish farms and fried and/or smoked fish businesses. YPO will provide start-up material to 40 unemployed youths to establish and run their fried and/or smoked fish business and support an additional capital of 4,000 fish fingerlings to fish farms that will be used as raw materials to increase capital and fish production that will in turn increase sales and revenue and contribute to creating 10 youths’ new employment in these farms and increase the monthly wages over Tshs 150,000/= of young workers who were already working on these farms.
Youth Power Organization 