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Vocational Training for Poor Women with the Lao Women’s Union (LWU)
Since starting work in Laos in 2000, Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA has been working with various branches of the Lao Women’s Union (LWU), especially in Vientiane Capital & Luang Prabang Provinces, to deliver vocational training for income generation. By giving women the skills they need to earn an income, they can independently lift themselves and their families out of poverty without needing ongoing charity.
A trainee learning how to make embroidered wedding sets
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From 2001-2006 the project, with support from AusAID, assisted the LWU to develop accredited vocational training centres for the first time. Key activities included training of trainers, building of class rooms, development of curriculum recognised by the Ministry of Education, the direct training of 2,500 low income women in hairdressing, tailoring, food processing, hospitality and small livestock production and provision of credit through revolving loans to assist trainees establish microenterprises post their training. The courses targeted a mix of rural and urban women, using outreach and village based courses to reach women in more remote areas of our target provinces.
APHEDA continues to support the LWU with hundreds of poor and unemployed women trained each year inskills that enable them to earn extra income for themselves and their families. Course curriculums currently include hairdressing and beauty, food processing, massage, tailoring and embroidery. APHEDA and the LWU also maintain a parallel microfinance program to enable entrepreneurial graduates to purchase equipment to start their own business. Courses also selectively include components on HIV awareness, life skills and Basic English. Independent evaluations have shown that trainees increased their incomes by an average of 93% after attending a Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA/ Lao Women's Union training course.
Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA and the Lao Women's Union are focussed on ensuring the courses are meeting market demands to enable trainees to maximise their income. This is done through market surveys, evaluations from participants and graduates and revisions of the government accredited curriculums. Trainer's skills are also upgraded to ensure trainees are receiving good quality and modern training, particularly for style sensitive industries such as tailoring and hairdressing.
Download full report:
2008-09 Report to Donors: Laos - Microfinance with LWU [ pdf ]
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