Day 1 at PEFE

Day one working with EFE in Ramallah. Let me explain EFE a little bit. EFE (Education for Employment Foundation) aims to provide practical training and skill-building workshops for students here in Palestine, and then provides them the connections and opportunities for employment. For fresh graduates from universities here, it is often difficult to secure a job, so PEFE targets these unemployed young people and gives them additional training and job connections.

Our goal today was to conduct interviews of employers of PEFE graduates in Hebron (al-Khalil) to understand their perspective on PEFE's training and ways we can improve or change the programs. After arriving in the morning, we held interviews with three employers that are partners with EFE. Each of these employers have hired women participants from EFE training programs in engineering or construction management. The most intriguing interview was with a contractor for the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee. This engineer is heading a small team which is reconstructing ruined homes in the Old City of Hebron. The EFE employee there is a small, soft-spoken young woman named Diana. It was striking to watch her on the work site – a group of men laborers watched her intently as she explained the plans for reconstructing a foundation. I have never seen an Arab woman on a construction site. We interviewed her boss, the head contractor. He had glowing praise for her, pointing out her attention to detail and organization skills as exceptional. As a girl who previously worked in a gravel pit, alone, I can imagine that Diana has to be exceptionally professional and skilled to be respected on the work site.

After the employer interviews, we held focus groups of PEFE applicants for an impact study. The goal of the impact study is primarily to evaluate whether PEFE programs are having a positive effect on students' "soft" skills - presentation, communication, workplace professionalism, etc as well as PEFE's general effect on the students. We listened to three groups of students talk about their frustrations, lack of opportunities and their desire to be given the chance to succeed. Later I was talking to my colleague and new friend Darin about what can be done to help these students. They have education, and plenty of motivation to work. Some of them are very talented. However, the political situation/occupation prevents the economy from growing independently of Israel, and job opportunities remain scarce. PEFE is trying to bridge the gap between theoretical studies in the university and practical skills training, and from what I see they are doing a good job. Many of PEFE's graduates have found work, and they are building a reputation for training excellent employees. However, just like many NGO programs here, it sometimes seems like a band-aid, keeping the frustrating situations of the participants under control and reaching a small population. Right now, that's the best most organizations can do in Palestine.