YMCA Jerusalem is the headquarters of the YMCA branch offices in the West Bank and a branch of the World Alliance of YMCAs.

YMCA runs a number of programs, most importantly the Vocational Training Center in Jericho, the vocational and psychological rehabilitation of disabled people in Beit Sahour, women training program in Ramallah, the culture and sport department, leaders’ training program in Jerusalem, and the sports and social center in Ramallah.

The EJ-YMCA Vocational Training Centre (VTC) was established in 1948 at Aqbat-Jaber Refugee Camp, in Jericho, after the Nakba where the Palestinian people were displaced from their lands.

It started with relief activities and academic education for the refugee children in the camp which was sheltering more than 75,000 refugees.

In the year 1952 the activities of the association were transformed to serve young people need to earn a living through training them in various professional and vocational fields, which were developed to meet the demands of the Palestinian market.

The EJ-YMCA Vocational Training Centre, as a not-for-profit community-based center, addresses the existing gaps in the Palestinian educational system with the provision of vocational training to young people. The VTC focuses on poverty reduction by empowering the most disadvantaged Palestinian youth to earn an income, through the application of newly acquired vocational skills and enhanced life skills.

The VTC contributes to the development of youth who are striving for economic independence. Its mission is to serve the community by providing market-relevant vocational training and life skills for disadvantaged and marginalized youth - both male and female - to give them an equal chance to access and enter the Palestinian labor market. The VTC is always upgrading its courses and programs adding innovation, technology and digitalization, to meet both youth and market needs.

 

VTC’s Vision

The EJ-YMCA Vocational Training Center aspires to achieve a holistic development of young men and women physically, emotionally and morally to enable them to reach economic independence and to participate in developing a democratic civil society in a free and independent Palestine.

 

VTC Target Groups

Young people of both sexes from all over the West Bank. The majority of whom are marginalized and poor with limited opportunities and those with limited mental or physical disabilities or with economic and social hardships in addition to slow learners.

 

VTC Goals

• The association works on achieving several goals through the vocational training center:
• Vocationally training young men and women in a way that complies with the labor markets.
• Supply the Palestinian market with a cadre of vocationally trained females and males.
• To provide vocational training for young men and women with limited opportunities, the marginalized, those with economic and social hardships and slow learners.
• Supporting the poor and the marginalized through providing them with training opportunities aimed at finding jobs for them to enable them to sustain themselves and their families.
• Networking with the local community institutions and creating partnerships in order to support these institutions in all areas possible.
• Contribute to community development and national economy building.
• Cultivating the spirit of cooperation, responsibility, creativity, and voluntary work through life skills training and civic education.

 

VTC’s Educational System

Diploma Program

The student obtains an accredited, a skilled-worker diploma from the Palestinian Ministry of Labor in the following fields:

• Auto mechanics
• Painting, decoration and gypsum works
• Metal (Iron & Aluminum fabrication)
• Carpentry, decoration and furniture painting
• Electrical installations and solar energy
• Sanitary installations and central heating
• Air conditioning and refrigeration
• Office management, photography & Digital Marketing (Girls only)

 

Short Courses

The student receives a certificate approved by the Palestinian Ministry of Labor in various professional and technical specializations of which:

• Sustainable agriculture and home gardening
• Food & desserts preparation
• Natural soap and cream production
• Electrical installations (Single-Phase)
• Industrial electrical installations (3-Phase)
• Photography basics
• International computer driving license (ICDL)

 

Daycare Section

In 2020, VTC has created a daycare section for the children of the mothers who enrolled in the VTC’s different programs.

 

EJ-YMCA VTC Location:

Al-Quds St., opposite OASIS hotel, Aqbat-Jaber, Jericho, Palestine

P.O. Box: 20

Tel: +970 (0)2 232 2649

Fax: +970 (0)2 232 1375

E-mail: [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ejymcavtc