SKILLS: Supporting persons with disabilities to access income opportunities in Ethiopia

Many young people in Ethiopia struggle to earn a living. Even where job opportunities exist, many lack the skills required to secure an income. Young persons with disabilities, especially young women with disabilities, face the highest barriers.

An estimated 17% of Ethiopia’s population lives with some form of disability. In response, the national Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) agency adopted an inclusive TVET policy in 2015. In 2019, the Ethiopian Centre for Disability and Development (ECDD) supported efforts to advance inclusive TVET. Two years later, most of the country’s 673 vocational schools had not implemented the policy.

To close this gap, ECDD implemented the Skills for Knowledge, Inclusion, Livelihood, and Living Support (SKILLS) project with support from CBM and funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project promoted both TVET and community-based training (CBT). CBT targets young persons with disabilities who have limited qualifications and do not meet the education requirements for TVET enrolment.

The overarching aim of the project was to provide young persons with disabilities aged between 15-29 with improved livelihood opportunities. Implemented between July 2021 and December 2024, the project aimed to promote the enrolment of young women and young men with disabilities in TVET and CBT institutions and prepare these institutions to enable meaningful and effective participation of young persons with disabilities.

The training provided by these institutions would be supplemented with business skills training and start-up support, as well as business incubation for participants. By doing so, the project aimed to improve the target groups’ access to income generating opportunities and override the social norms that prevented them from participating meaningfully in society.

A key achievement of the project was the participation of 934 young women and 915 young men with disabilities in vocational training. Of these participants, 1,587 (802 young women, 785 young men) also received additional training in business and employability soft skills to strengthen their ability to launch and run successful businesses or secure waged employment.

This level of engagement was particularly remarkable in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, 49% of the trainees were later able to establish their own income-generating activities through microenterprise business start-ups. With an additional 5% either securing waged employment or enrolling in internships or apprenticeships, more than half of the trainees were able to meaningfully contribute to their households’ incomes.

In parallel, the project strengthened the capacity of vocational training institutions. 891 staff members were trained and began implementing guidelines for inclusive vocational training. Additionally, 30 resource centres were enhanced, and 16 model TVET centres underwent accessibility audits and were made accessible. These resource centres support independent learning by providing access to both digital and analogue media, as well as the Minch platform, an interactive voice response (IVR) telephone platform offering training modules, counselling services, and job placement interfaces.

Throughout the planning and implementation phases, the project also consulted organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in crucial areas such as the selection of trainers and trainees, and support and mentorship of graduates. This inclusive approach enabled OPDs to represent the interests of persons with disabilities, ensuring that the training measures were relevant and impactful. The OPDs have also played a significant role in advocating to the government to provide working spaces so that self-employed young persons with disabilities can run their businesses.