TRAIN TO WORK PROPOSAL

UNCLAS KIRKUK 000031 SIPDIS SIPDIS BAGHDAD FOR AID, NCT, IRMO, ECON AND POL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV IZ SUBJECT: TRAIN TO WORK PROPOSAL ¶1. This is a SET Tikrit cable. -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶2. In Salah Ad Din Province, a group of men is trying to tackle part of the employment problem. They have devised a program very similar to the U.S. Civilian Conservation Corps, and hope to present it to the PRDC this month. Funding is their current issue, and we are awaiting their plan to solve that issue. -------------- PROPOSAL -------------- ¶3. A conversation about job training between our IRMO rep, SET Officer and a local Iraqi resulted in an Iraqi proposal to form a group very similar to President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. The program is proposed by five men from Salah Ad Din and Ninawa. They developed a plan to cover a one year training program for 100 men, aged 18-27. The program will instill discipline, life skills, and job skills in these 100 men, preparing them to take their places in the Iraqi job market. They want the proposal to be approved by the Salah Ad Din Provincial Council, to add legitimacy to the program. ¶4. The men behind the proposal cite the lack of jobs in this area as the main cause of security problems. They also cite unemployment as a reason why young men fail to gain practical work experience: including timeliness, motivation, reliability and job savvy. Their proposal is being finalized now. ¶5. The plan envisions 10 trainers, possibly unemployed former Iraqi Army personnel, being given further leadership training, and each leading a squad of 10 recruits. These recruits will be unemployed or underemployed men of various backgrounds. The recruits will wear uniforms, and go through a basic training schedule for a short period. Physical and mental attention will be emphasized in this phase. The next phase will involve job training in preparation for doing projects for various villages near the training area. The project emphasis will be to improve the quality of life of the villagers, and showing provincial government support of their village. ¶6. This group sees the program as forming at the provincial level, drawing recruits from all parts of the province of Salah Ad Din. After the initial group graduates, the proposal calls for expansion to other provinces, and perhaps to other training sites in Salah Ad Din. Also, from this group of recruits will come follow-on staff members. -------------- LOGISTICS -------------- ¶7. Recruits will be provided with uniforms, meals, and other necessities. Food will be prepared on-site, and recruits will help with the food preparation function on a rotating basis. Assigned vehicles will transport the recruits to near-by villages for their workday, and the recruits will each draw a small stipend for their work. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. This group of Iraqi men is pushing very hard to finalize this proposal. Their next hurdle will be finding a donor to fund the initiative. They are revising the budget, and are expecting to have it complete before mid-February. This project has the potential to gather in disenfranchised young men, give them a job for a year, and prepare them to become employable in the future. SET has informed USAID about the project, who will consider in due course whether it fits with USG goals. DEAN