The school offers young people from marginalised communities the opportunity to learn vital new skills

September 2010: Young people from war-torn South Sudan are learning the skills they need to prosper, thanks to the country’s first vocational and technical school.

The groundbreaking Plan project came about as a result of 2 independent feasibility studies which concluded that increasing vocational training and skills for young people is essential for helping secure the country’s peaceful future.

150 students have now enrolled at the US$4,200,000 landmark Juba Technical High School, which provides marginalised communities - especially young people and former child soldiers – with skills training in subjects from electronics to hospitality.

Child soldiers

At least 20,000 child soldiers fought in Sudan's civil war and 900 are still in the ranks. The army said recently that it plans to demobilise all child soldiers by the end of the year and many of them will need support.

Plan’s director for South Sudan, Fikru Abebe, said: “We scanned the markets and asked employers what they needed. We also knew there would be a pool of young people and former child soldiers in need of sustainable livelihood choices rather than post wartime survival options. So we put the two needs together.

“Although there are many challenges to the development of technical and vocational education in Southern Sudan, there are also many hopes and opportunities for improvement and growth.”

Rebuilding Sudan

Electronics student Isaah outside the school at its official opening in September

Over the past 5 years Plan has been working with the South Sudan government to rebuild the country after more than 2 decades of civil war killed 2,000,000 people and displaced 4,000,000.

Discussions are now underway with the government to replicate the project in other parts of the country and to upgrade the school into a national polytechnic institute.

Skills for the future

“I am lucky to be one of the selected few to be enrolled at the school. This will equip me with the necessary skills for me to play a part in the reconstruction and economic development of my country,” said Isaah Rombek, 21, an electronics student.

“This school will also provide an opportunity for many unemployed youths, most of them former child soldiers, to acquire skills that will enable them to play a meaningful role in the future of our country,” he added.

See how the Juba Technical High School is helping to change students' lives