Women of Idlib cannot find job
We need a job to pay for our basic needs such as food, clothing, and a place to live. Women’s centers in Idlib play an important role in creating employment opportunities for women. Women participating in the courses held by these centers can have a profession but have difficulty in finding a job.
SOHÊR EL-IDLIBÎ
Idlib- According to the Syria Response Coordinators Group, the unemployment rate in Idlib is between 78 and 80 percent. Women’s centers in Idlib play an important role in holding job training programs to empower women. The number of these centers is increasing in the city. Women and girls participating in the job training programs organized by these centers learn how to have professions such as a tailor, hairdresser and confectioner. However, the centers face difficulties to find jobs for women due to the limited job opportunities in the city and the lack of support for their projects. “We now have a profession but we have difficulty in finding a job,” say the women, who get a certificate after attending the job training programs.
“I need materials to practice”
Sabah El-Seid immigrated from Maarat El-Numan to Idlib two years ago. She settled in the Barisha Camp located in the west of Idlib with her family. She wanted to have a profession to look after her three children because her husband was arrested in 2017. 33-year-old Sabah El-Seid attended a three-month job training program and she is now a hairdresser. “I learned easily because I have wanted to be a hairdresser since my childhood. Now, I want to open a beauty shop but I don’t have money. I need materials to practice my skill but I don’t have any.”
“Employers demand experience”
28-year-old Shahla El-Sawaf also attended one of the job training programs held by the centers to realize her dream but she cannot realize her dream because she cannot find a job. “Job training program was an opportunity for me to stand on my own legs,” said Shahla El-Sawaf, who received her certificate after attending a four-month program. She has tried to find a job since she received her certificate, “The employers demand at least two-year experience or a certificate from an institute or university but I have no experience.”
“Women have no job opportunity”
Ramia El-Eid (40) pointed to the problems faced by women after completing the job training programs held by the centers. “The centers don’t find jobs for women after they receive their certificates. This is the biggest problem faced by women.”