To support the initiatives of the new Government of Timor-Leste to enhance skills training for young people and to expand their employment opportunities as they enter the labour force, the ILO in partnership with three training centers in Timor-Leste—Fundacao Cicanda (STVJ), Pro Ema and East Timor Development Agency (ETDA)—delivered pilot entrepreneurship trainings for tourism and hospitality sector. A total of 90 students from technical and vocational education and training (TVET) schools participated in the training programme using the ILO’s activity-based learning (ABL) tools.

ILO’s ABL programmes is a low-cost, easy to implement approach to training designed for delivery without a need for trainers or subject matter experts. Participants work together in small groups and are guided by step-by-step instructions to share experiences, solve problems and apply practical tools. The pilot trainings were conducted using selected modules of the Small Business Competitiveness (SBC) Programme which provide guidance to enterprises and aspiring entrepreneurs in a number of tourism sectors.

The training programmes were conducted in three training sessions from 2 to 3 October covering skills on home stay management, restaurant management and entrepreneurship. The first training was conducted with STVJ on 2 October where 20 aspiring and existing homestay business owners learnt about creating an effective system for homestay management and marketing strategies to promote their homestay business to potential guests.

Held in the restaurant school in Pro Ema on 3 October, 40 students reflected on their practices on storing different types of food and developed an action plan to improve safety and waste management; while the next day, on 4 October, 30 students interested in starting their own businesses in ETDA brainstormed about potential business ideas and elaborated a business plan in a group.

Both students and representatives of the training centres appreciated the training programmes and the benefits gained from the practical guides and exercises. “This training served as an inspiration and gave me motivation to start my own business,” said one of the students.

Similarly, the representative of the training centre stated that “We appreciate the ILO for introducing this ABL methodology, which is new for us. This approach strengthens the students’ entrepreneurial skills and mindset as well as heir core skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, negotiation, teamwork, and presentation skills.”

The training centers, therefore, expressed interest to integrating the ABL tools as part of their training curricula and partnering with the ILO to hold future activities, such as the business competition and Careers Day. To ensure the involvement of industries, the training was also attended by representatives of the Timor-Leste Hotel Owners Association and Market Development Facilities.

This pilot session is part of the Building Youth Capacity and Network in Asia Pacific project funded by the Government of Japan; It aims to develop a network of development partners to equip young entrepreneurs with the skills needed to start their own businesses and become drivers of sustainable development. A project activity focuses on promoting employment and decent work opportunities for youth in the hospitality and tourism sector in Timor-Leste.

For further information please contact:

Heejin Ahn
Technical Officer on Entrepreneurship and Social and Solidarity Economy Development
ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team – Bangkok
Email: ahnh@ilo.org