Results achieved as of the end of the project (October 2022) include: (1) renovated and equipped six Productivity & Vocational Training Department (TVET ) facilities to improve the delivery of seven TVET gender-sensitive programs reaching 1,106 young Egyptians, of whom 467 were women; (2) trained 354 nursing students, including 294 women, and 166 faculty members, including 142 women, at the University of Aswan on emerging health topics, such as COVID-19 prevention; (3) strengthened the capacity of the Continuing Education Centres to deliver employability, professional, and management trainings to 3,319 students, of whom 1,906 were women, in the Aswan and Kom Ombo districts; (4) promoted youth entrepreneurship through the delivery of training to 2,736 youths, of whom 1,370 were women, using the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) entrepreneurship curriculum; (5) 721 youths, including 357 women, participated in five Business Plan Competitions that resulted in 86 young entrepreneurs, including 57 women, being awarded access to financial support and business development and mentorship services to support them in starting their businesses. Also held information sessions to link female business owners with gender-sensitive financial products and loans designed to support their specific needs; (6) 1,357 enterprises received business development services and 18 workshops attended by financial institutions to build connections between the formal financial sector and new entrepreneurs, reaching a total of 1,068 participants, of whom 636 were women; (7) established one Career Development Centre in Aswan, which provided career counselling and job placement services and access to an online job portal to 3,205 people, of whom 1,962 were women. This fostered networking, and professional exchanges between new entrepreneurs and successful women leaders; (8) organized four job fairs and 10 employer workshops to connect youth with potential employers and discuss ways to improve working environments. This included ways to create a safe workplace for women that is free from harassment and gender-based violence (GBV), and increase the recruitment of young graduates, especially women, in the Aswan Governorate; (9) developed five policy briefs, established 12 industry advisory groups, and organized 19 learning events and 33 consultations, including five consultations with public sector institutions, to advance gender-sensitive employability and entrepreneurship in Upper Egypt and ensure that government services are responsive to the needs of both the labour market and youth jobseekers, especially women. These events were attended by 437 government representatives and service delivery partners; (10) conducted a gender assessment to inform the gender-sensitive design of Continuing Education Centres, which resulted in the designation of women-only restrooms, installation of surveillance cameras and adequate lighting for safety, which helped increase women’s participation in the program from 19% to 42% by project end; (11) executed online awareness-raising campaigns on GBV to familiarize communities in Aswan with the different forms of domestic violence, to highlight the impact of GBV on women’s mental and physical health and safety. The campaigns included guidelines for family and friends on creating a supportive environment for survivors of GBV; and (12) conducted an assessment on environmental and employability challenges, especially within the green sector, in Aswan. This led to the integration of environmentally sustainable business considerations in training and workshops, development of an Environment Strategy for the Aswan Governorate and training of local government officials on environmental sustainability concepts, advantages, and risks. The project reached 13,666 beneficiaries, including 7,368 women, and 10,509 intermediaries, of whom 6,612 were women.
