LABOUR MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Fallujah District, Anbar Governorate IOM Iraq – April 2019 This programme is supported by: Labour Market Opportunities and Challenges IOM Disclaimer List of Acronyms The opinions expressed in the report are those of BEP Business Expansion Package the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views BSP Business Support Package of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material CoC Chamber of Commerce Throughout the report do not imply the expression of any CoI Chamber of Industries opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning the CIP Community Implementation Plan Legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. CRC Community Resource Centre ESP Employment Support Package IOM is committed to the principle that humane and FGD Focus Group Discussion orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an Intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners FT Farming Training in the international community to: assist in meeting the IDP Internally Displaced Person operational challenges of migration; advance understanding ISIL Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human IOM International Organization for Migration dignity and well-being of migrants. JP Job Placement LMA Labour Market Assessment Contact: For more information on the Return and Recovery Unit (RRU) programme and current activities taking place in NFI Non-Food Items Iraq, please contact: [email protected] MoLSA Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs OJT On-the-Job Training Main Office in Baghdad UNAMI Compound DIWAN 2 SME Small and Medium Enterprise International Zone, Baghdad, Iraq. VT Vocational Training Tel: +3908 3105 2600 ext. 5857/5928 E-mail: [email protected] 2 International Organization for Migration Table of Contents IOM Disclaimer 2 List of Acronyms 2 1. Executive Summary 4 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Study Components 1.3. Fallujah Key Findings 1.3.1 Challenges & Opportunities Facing Youth 1.3.2 Challenges & Opportunities Facing Jobseekers 1.3.3 Challenges & Opportunities Facing Employers 1.3.4 Challenges & Opportunities Facing Consumers 1.4. Overall Recommendations 2. Location and Study Overview 5 2.1. Introduction 2.2. LMA Overview 2.3. Fallujah District Overview 2.3.1 Location and Demographics 2.3.2. Security, Displacement, and Returns 2.3.3. Local Concerns 2.4. LMA Methodology Overview 2.4.1. Key Informant Interviews 2.4.2. Youth Focus Group Discussions 2.4.3. Jobseeker Surveys 2.4.4. Employer Surveys 2.4.5. Consumer Surveys 3. Findings 7 3.1. Key Informant Interviews 3.2. Youth Needs and Priorities 3.3. Jobseeker Needs and Priorities 3.4. Employer Needs and Priorities 3.5. Consumer Needs and Priorities 3.6. Community Implementation Plan (CIP) Recommendations 4. Conclusions 10 3 Labour Market Opportunities and Challenges 1. Executive Summary 1.3.3. Challenges & Opportunities Facing Employers • Carpentry and Construction, in addition to water processing 1.1. Introduction plants, were the industries most likely to self-report demand issues; and With sub-offices across Iraq, jointly managed Community • Businesses that mentioned difficulty finding qualified workers Resource Centres (CRCs), and a presence within Ministry of included many types of food related businesses (a bakery, an Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA’s) sub-offices, IOM has a field ice cream seller, a sweets maker, a pizza vendor), in addition presence that allows for a community driven approach to recovery to some businesses in the production and distribution of and development. Under its livelihoods programming, IOM works concrete blocks, ceramic tiles, aluminum cabinets, electrical with a system of community engagement that has been refined transformers, water bottles, and PVC goods. through an interactive learning process, and relies on stakeholder consultation throughout the design of sustainable livelihoods Recommendations: activities. In order to design market-led development interventions, On the Job Training (OJT) or Job Placement (JP) for a series of Labour Market Assessments (LMAs) were conducted. In youth in the culinary arts could provide some of the skills Anbar Governorate, the Fallujah district was selected for in-depth needed by employers. study. 1.2. Study Components 1.3.4. Challenges & Opportunities Facing Consumers This LMA is based on 150 individual interviews and three youth • Consumers surveyed in Fallujah were not found to spend Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with roughly 30 total participants, significantly different amounts on food than consumers in conducted over a two-month period between December 2018 other areas of Iraq; and January 2019. Survey tools included a mix of quantitative and • Consumers were found to spend significantly less on rent, qualitative exercises, conducted with key informants, jobseekers, transportation, and electricity than in other areas of Iraq; youth, consumers, and employers. It focused on three communities • The most frequently mentioned good that was hard to find of Fallujah – Albu Akash, Al-Nassaf, and Karma Al-Somod. A included carpentry services, in addition to venues for dining summary of key findings is below, followed by a fuller analysis and and entertainment; and explanation. • 70% of respondents mentioned travelling out of their town to purchase or access goods that were hard to find locally. Recommendations: 1.3. Fallujah Key Findings Cash based grants to transportation providers should be 1.3.1. Challenges & Opportunities Facing Youth discouraged to avoid distortion/further price drops. • Participants felt that Vocational Training (VT) subjects could Advanced trainings in carpentry should be provided, include blacksmithing, carpentry, and haircutting; not just job placement. • Carpentry, metalworking, tailoring, and working either in a bakery or grocery store were mentioned as desirable jobs; • The agricultural identity of the community was remarked on and a request was made to develop the agricultural projects 1.4. Overall Recommendations in the community; and • Some women have skills in tailoring or cosmetology but lack Sectors Food processing, construction manufacturing, access to any kind of support. to target: metalworking, agriculture. Profile Recommendations: Youth, university graduates and poor households. to target: Offer Business Support Packages (BSPs) to women with careful consideration to local attitudes. • Although many local carpenters report demand issues, youth still report it as a desirable job type, Support the training of youth in blacksmithing, culinary so advanced trainings, not just job placement, skills, and agriculture. should be provided in carpentry; 1.3.2. Challenges & Opportunities Facing Jobseekers • Agriculture was only mentioned by youth in communities outside of Fallujah, but not by key Recommendations: informants or jobseekers. Instead of agriculture Notes: Look for ways to increase presence and continuity for here, perhaps culinary arts or food processing IOM in Fallujah, including possibly a mobile job centre. could be a training subject; and • Women were not mentioned as a group that should be prioritized for livelihood assistance, indicating possibly conservative attitudes and suggesting IOM should not explicitly target women’s empowerment in the area. 4 International Organization for Migration 2. Location and Study Overview 2.3. Fallujah District Overview 2.3.1. Location and Demographics 2.1. Introduction Fallujah is a district in the Anbar governorate whose capital, Recognizing that the private sector is an engine for growth, IOM Fallujah city, is located roughly 65 kilometers west of Baghdad on works to create inclusive markets at the individual, community the Euphrates; it is known as the “city of mosques” for the more and institutional level. At the individual level, IOM has prioritized than 200 mosques found in the city and throughout the district. support to micro enterprises. This has included providing business The area was sparsely populated in the mid-20th century but development services (including business advisory and counselling experienced strong population growth after Iraqi independence services) and business support packages (including in-kind and cash in 1947 and the influx of oil wealth into the country. The capital, support), all of which aim to increase income generation at the Fallujah city, grew from a small town to over 300,000 inhabitants household level. prior to the Iraq War, in part due to Fallujah’s location on the main road leaving Baghdad for Iraq’s western border with Jordan and For those individuals who need capacity development support or Saudi Arabia1. The majority of residents are Sunni. who have more specific backgrounds like agriculture, IOM provides specialized skills development and training through Vocational Training (VT), Farming Training (FT) or On-the-Job Training (OJT), 2.3.2. Security and Displacement accompanied by employability assistance inclusive of in-kind items Fallujah district was the seat of a series of important ISIL tailored to enhance individual employability. For beneficiaries who advancements up to and including 2014, though accounts of the already possess relevant education or training and need to gain extent of ISIL control of the area vary – some accounts have hands-on work experience, IOM job placement and job matching suggested that