Kathmandu, April 13

USAID Nepal and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) jointly launched a website — www.jobfirst.org.np — to provide jobs to 70,000 disadvantage people in Nepal’s far-west.

The website, under the Education for Income Generation (EIG) project supported by USAID, has targeted 15 districts — Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet, Dang, Pyuthan, Jumla, Humla, Dailekh, Jajarkot, Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan, Dolpa, Mugu and Kalikot. It will facilitate poor youths who have not passed the School Leaving Certificate exam to find training programmes, institutes and suitable jobs, said USAID Nepal director Beth Paige.

Project implementation began in January 2008 with the aim of helping conflict-affected youth, she added.

EIG has trained 2158 youths in masonry, brick molding, hair-styling, sweets and snacks making so far, said Govinda

Dev Pandey, coordinator of EIG at FNCCI.

Other implementing partners of the projects are Center for Environmental and Agriculture Policy Research, Extension and Development, Development Project Service Center Nepal, International Development Enterprises and F-Skill Nepal.