At Misrak Polytechnic College in Addis Ababa, 20-year-old Hanna Samuel is learning carpentry skills, including operating woodworking machines and reading technical drawings. “People told me carpentry is men’s work,” she said. “But I was interested, so I registered.”
Hanna’s experience is part of a broader change in Ethiopia’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system. This shift is supported by the Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project, which began in 2024 with support from the World Bank. The EASE Project aims to improve employment outcomes for TVET graduates by aligning short-term skills training with labor market needs.
The project includes practical upgrades at colleges like Misrak Polytechnic, such as separate restrooms and showers for female students. It also sets benchmarks for inclusion, aiming for 50% female participation in both short- and long-term training programs. There are also specific targets for rural youth, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and other underserved groups. Hanna hopes her training will allow her to start a small carpentry business.
By supporting women entering fields traditionally dominated by men—such as woodworking—the EASE Project seeks to make these areas more accessible to underrepresented groups through safe and inclusive environments.
The EASE Project provides short-term training to up to 100,000 young people across Ethiopia. The program offers technical instruction along with digital literacy, financial education, and soft skills. The goal is that at least 70% of graduates will find employment or start their own businesses within a year after completing the program.
Rediet Bezabih, another graduate of Misrak Polytechnic, initially planned to study hospitality but ended up in leatherworking. She found an interest in design and production: “I learned how to turn an idea into a real product,” she said.
After gaining experience locally, Rediet started her own workshop producing leather bags and wallets for local shops and some overseas buyers. For her, skills training led to self-employment while allowing her to balance work with family responsibilities.
Opportunities are also emerging at other institutions. At Holeta Polytechnic College near Addis Ababa, student Lalistu Debela received national recognition for developing banana chips and banana peel powder—a project aimed at reducing food waste and improving nutrition. With support from the World Bank-backed East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP), Lalistu won first place at the Fourth National Skills Competition: “I wanted to show how we can make use of things that are usually discarded,” she said.
Her project demonstrated basic food processing techniques using local materials. Lalistu hopes to continue her studies in food science and eventually develop a small production unit with local farmers.
Through EASTRIP, Holeta Polytechnic has improved its equipment, instruction quality, and industry connections—resources that helped Lalistu refine her project ideas despite occasional challenges.
Together, EASE and EASTRIP address different aspects of TVET reform in Ethiopia: EASE focuses on short-term training and inclusion; EASTRIP strengthens institutional capacity and regional collaboration. Both aim to align training with labor market demands while improving outcomes for graduates.
These projects are also working on better labor market data collection, certification systems, and monitoring programs so that providers can respond more effectively to employer needs over time.
The experiences of trainees like Hanna, Rediet, and Lalistu illustrate how access to practical skills training can create new opportunities for young people in Ethiopia—whether through formal jobs or entrepreneurship—even as challenges remain.