USAID Empowers College Graduates with Employment Skills

(R-L) Professor Amanullah Hamidzai, chancellor of Shahid Rabani Education University and Habibullah Wajidi USWDP representative
(R-L) Professor Amanullah Hamidzai, chancellor of Shahid Rabani Education University and Habibullah Wajidi representative from USWDP exchanging the memorandum of understanding.
USAID

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, December 29, 2015
+93 (0) 700 11 3553

Kabul, Afghanistan – The eighth Career Development Center was opened under USAID’s Afghanistan University Support and Workforce Development Program on Monday. This newest center is located at Shaheed Rabbani Education University in Kabul.  

Since the program started in 2014, eight campus career centers have been built or refurbished around the country. Combined, these centers offer help in finding a job to more than 85,000 students at eight public universities. 

The career centers teach undergraduates and graduate students, decision-making skills, job search strategies and ways to develop educational and career goals for their professional and academic pursuit. Free career counseling sessions help students explore their interests, values, skills, personality traits, and additional factors that can help with career placement. 

Ms. Ameena, 23, is one of 135 students who have gotten an internship through a university career center. As a senior medical student at Kabul Medical University, she attended 40 hours of skills training in resume and cover letter writing, social networking, job research and interview preparation.

As a result, she got an internship as a First Aid trainer with the Afghanistan Holding Group. She loves the opportunity.

“I have never worked in an office environment before,” Ameena said. “So interacting with each individual and managers at the training was a different experience altogether and helped me learn how to behave in an office environment.”

USAID also sponsors career centers at Kabul Polytechnic University, Kabul Medical University, Herat University, Balkh University, Kandahar University, Nangarhar University and Kabul University.

This program links universities and potential employers in the public and private sectors to help Afghan higher education institutions tailor their curricula to market needs and to strengthen management at 11 public universities. The program partnered with the 11 universities to establish or substantially improve five associate degrees programs, 14 bachelor’s degrees programs, and seven master’s degrees programs.