RECONSTRUCTION SKILLS/ HELVETAS NEPAL

Program Description

The April 2015 earthquake gave rise to a huge demand for construction workers skilled in earthquake resilient techniques.  The Employment Fund responded by developing a 50 – day onsite training module, in which participants worked in groups of five, building the house of one amongst their number. This successful “learning by doing” approach has become the government standard, approved by the National Reconstruction Authority. From 2015 to March 2018, the project trained around 10,844 young people in masonry and carpentry, one third of them being women. A total of 2,994 houses earthquake resilient houses have been constructed. Participants have not only rebuilt their own houses; they have become skilled construction workers in regular employment. Of all those trained, 84% are now in gainful employment in the construction sector. The project has also piloted training in retrofitting – in which earthquake – damaged buildings are reinforced and made safe. However, it was realized that this training resulted in fewer opportunities for regular employment, as the techniques are complicated and demand the supervision of engineers. Training in reconstruction skills was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the UK Department for international Development (DFID).