KATHMANDU: In an effort to increase the youth’s access to quality jobs by linking training providers, employers, and youth, USAID/Nepal, have launched a website, www.jobsfirst.org.np” monday.

The Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development in Nepal (USAID/Nepal), Beth S. Paige, and Kush Kumar Joshi, the President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), jointly inaugurated it. According to the press release by USAID/Nepal, the website is a part of USAID/Nepal’s Education for Income Generation (EIG) Program, which seeks to train disadvantaged and conflict-affected youth for employment in fifteen mid-western districts of Nepal.

From five years, USAID have been conducting the EIG program, through which it is providing integrated training on literacy, life skills, vocational education, agriculture, and targeted scholarships. It claims that so far 70,000 Nepali youth have got such opportunities, which helps to enhance their vocational skills and self independence.

“USAID is providing this free training for disadvantaged youth under the age of 30 from conflict affected communities. As enrollment of students is tailored to meet market demands, almost 80 percent of the trainees in the vocational education program are hired upon graduation. A significant number of the trainees are women. Women are emerging as a powerful part of Nepal’s workforce because of the massive migration of men,” said Beth S. Paige at the event.

The Jobsfirst website is expected to support USAID’s EIG program by providing a tool for youth to find suitable jobs or become entrepreneurs. “The ‘jobsfirst’ website was developed in collaboration with FNCCI and is reflective of our commitment to work with the private sector to stimulate economic growth, develop businesses and workforces, and expand access to education and technology,” Ms. Paige added. FNCCI will administer the site and endeavor to affiliate all FNCCI members in the long run.

The website will accept vacancy notices for jobs requiring minimal education levels of upto but below a School Level Certificate (SLC). The types of jobs advertised include furniture makers, electricians, plumbers, masons, and jewellery makers. The web site also contains space for listing occupational trainings and categorises job market opportunities by area, job/position, training needs and training courses per specific program area. USAID’s five-year $14.6 million EIG program began in 2008 and is being implemented by Winrock International and its partner organisations.