Herat, Afghanistan – USAID’s Afghanistan Workforce Development Program (AWDP), in partnership with nine private vocational and business training providers and the Herat Provincial government, held a two-day Mega Job Fair on June 16 - 17.  The event connected graduates of AWDP with private sector employers in fields such as construction, financial and project management, marketing, information technology, and sectors in need of youth and women personnel. 

Over 10,000 male and female job seekers attended the fair.  More than 100 private sector companies, government entities and non-governmental organizations participated and received over 6,000 curriculum vitaes.  During the job fair, 60 candidates found employment and 320 were shortlisted for interviews.  The local government advertised 3,331 employment opportunities for a variety of positions, with primary school teacher being one of the most common.

The Governor of Herat province, Mohammad Asif Rahimi, also attended the fair.

The AWDP program aims to train, place or promote at least 25,000 mid-career and semi-professional job seekers and private sector employees, reducing the reliance on foreign workers.  The program is currently in place in five major regional urban hubs: Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Kabul.  USAID’s AWDP training, conducted in collaboration with the private sector, succeeded in building the local workforce’s professional skills and matching labor demand assessment with the training curriculum to fit the local context.

• Press Release - AWDP Herat Job Fair  (Dari)
• Press Release - AWDP Herat Job Fair  (Pashto)