A three-year project, called the Local Empowerment through Economic Development (LEED), to provide training and enterprise development,has been launched in Vavuniya, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said.
More than 2,400 households and about 6,000 micro and small entrepreneurs stand to benefit from the LEED project, said the press release. The project aims to assist vulnerable sectors through skills training and enterprise development in Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna. It works to improve local village economies by helping develop value chains or forward and backward linkages. It will also work to revive some small and medium enterprises affected by the war, by training apprentices and conducting productivity studies. After training, the project participants will be given start-up tools and basic equipment so that they can start their enterprises.
The LEED project will be jointly implemented by the Ministry of Labour Relations and Productivity Promotion and the ILO. It is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), under the Australian Community Rehabilitation Programme (ACRP).
LEED will introduce new, empowering, instruments and systems for planning, project delivery and post-project follow-up, said the statement. These systems will be shared with local government agencies and training providers to build up their long-term capacity.
Implementing these interventions in a synchronized manner in the district is expected to have a profound impact on the local economy and raise income levels. |
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