Swiss govt provides Rs 1.88b for ENSSURE-II project

The Swiss government has agreed to provide Rs 1.88 billion of grant assistance to the government of Nepal to continue with a second phase of the Enhanced Skills for Sustainable and Rewarding Employment (ENSSURE-II) project in Nepal for the next four years.

The ENSSURE II project will continue scaling up apprenticeships, a formal programme with the duration of two years, which is also a sustainable model in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. It will also continue to offer short courses with on-the-job training, skill upgrading training for existing workers, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) at the workplace as well as career guidance for youth. The project will further enhance the collaboration between the education sector and employers and thereby contribute to sustainable and rewarding job prospects for Nepalese youth. The project will benefit a total of 70,000 people.

The project will be implemented by Provincial Governments in Province 1, Bagmati Province and Lumbini Province, including 33 Local Governments, in close collaboration with the Council for Technical and Vocational, Education and Training (CTEVT) at the federal level.

Chief of International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division of the Finance Ministry, Dhaniram Sharma, told RSS that the Swiss government is providing grant assistance to impart technical and vocational training to unemployed youths of the country. Sharma expressed the belief that “Development of human resources is crucial for socio-economic transformation. I believe that this project will support the development of skilled, competitive, and creative human resources and ensure the opportunity to have gainful employment, provide career guidance service for Nepalese youth, and also meets the need of businesses and industries in achieving skilled human resources.” Dhaniram Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, and Silvana Hogg, Acting Ambassador, Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal had recently signed and exchanged a bilateral agreement on behalf of their respective governments, according to the Finance Ministry.