Professional training for welders in Zalewa, Malawi

In Zalewa, Malawi, FACE e.V. has been offering a workshop to train welders and flashmakers since 2022. TOOLS FOR LIFE has been supporting the project with €12,150 since then

Current situation

There is high unemployment in Malawi and many young people often do not know what to do after school. Our partner organization FACE e.V. has therefore launched a training programme in the fields of welding and flashing so that young people and young adults can later become self-employed or enter into an employment relationship.

There is great potential in this professional field, as the village of Zalewa and surrounding areas are to be connected to the water network in the next few years.

Our measures

Our initial funding enabled us to provide the young people and young adults with welding equipment and training materials. This is made possible by the support of our partner organization FACE e.V., which has specialist knowledge and provides a trainer. The second grant, which was awarded in 2023, aimed to further improve the quality of training. For example, in addition to oxyfuel welding, electric welding was also introduced to produce stronger weld seams and to bend or cut pipes.

Secondary school graduates and students are taught at the face campus as part of the secondary school's hands-on program. There are fifteen students in the current plumber class of the vocational training program, including seven young women.

Conclusion

Around thirty trainees benefit from the training each year, either school leavers or young people from the community without a school-leaving certificate. In addition, around 200 secondary school pupils benefit from technical lessons.

Outlook

In 2024, there are plans to set up an additional classroom for vocational training in order to be able to offer the one-year course as well as the second and third years of training in plumbing and welding. The FACE e.V. association is also planning to send a container to Malawi next year. This will not only contain chairs, blackboards and other teaching materials for primary and secondary schools, but also equipment for vocational training.

Facts and numbers

The background to the project