The Forsah Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Forsah TVET) program is a five-year project working to enable TVET institutions in the West Bank and Gaza to meet labor market demands and provide Palestinians with meaningful, well-paying employment and income-generating opportunities.  

Forsah TVET supports the development of new technical and vocational training and improves the quality and relevancy of existing technical programs, with a particular focus on improving youth access and creating partnerships with the private sector. These programs will help Palestinians become more employable and find employment opportunities, or start their own business, in increasingly in-demand technical sectors.  

The Forsah TVET program in the West Bank and Gaza upgrades technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions to provide the Palestinian labor force with market-driven technical and vocational skills that enable graduates to productively engage in local and regional economies. The three intermediate results are:   

• Enhance TVET institutions’ capacity to respond to the needs of the private sector;  

• Foster partnerships between TVET institutions, private sector firms, and youth in specific sectors;  

• Increase enrollment in TVET programs.  

• Assessments: Forsah TVET will conduct a rapid sector prioritization exercise to identify a short list of sectors with the greatest growth potential and the likelihood of creating jobs in coming years, and, therefore, the greatest employment demand. Through a youth-led inquiry on gender, inclusion, and protection, Forsah TVET will analyze the factors that influence the participation of females, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups in training programs, to support their enrollment in TVET programs and help create inclusive and safe spaces for all participants.  

• Enhance TVET Institutions’ Capacity: Over five years, Forsah TVET will partner with 12 TVET institutions to build their capacity and work with them to co-design market-driven training programs with private sector and youth partners; renovate and expand TVET facilities to create vibrant, accessible, and safe learning environments; and create financial models and sustainability roadmaps using IREX’s Data for Sustainability (D4S) approach  

• Create partnerships between TVET institutions, private sector, and youth: Forsah TVET will link TVETs, the private sector, and youth to share data and enable evidence-based workforce development decision-making to incentivize private sector firms to partner with TVETs to develop work-based learning opportunities and support TVETs to establish or advance Career Development Centers to better sustain engagement with the private sector.  

• Increase enrollment in TVET programs: Forsah TVET will support TVET institutions and trainees to implement perception surveys to better understand the best ways to improve public perceptions of TVET. Survey results will support TVET institutions to develop outreach and advocacy capacity and support a youth-led public awareness campaign competition.

This activity is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of IREX and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.