Skills Development and Education

Enhancing education opportunities and providing practical vocational skills to the poor and disadvantaged is one of Helvetas’ priorities.

Lack of education perpetuates inequality because poor countries cannot compete economically without a skilled workforce. Annually, we help up to 200,000 people get better access to quality schools, literacy courses, and vocational education and training.

Why skills development and education matter

Poor parents cannot send their kids to school. Restricted access to education is one of the main reasons why poverty is passed on from generation to generation.

Not only does education boost income, it also increases a person’s chances for a healthy life, promotes peace, and encourages gender equality. Basic schooling and professional skills development foster an active civil society, spur innovation, and promote long-term economic development.

Our work

Helvetas supports vocational schools that teach practical and market-oriented skills to young people in developing countries. In basic education we focus on training teachers, promoting effective teaching methods, and helping out-of-school children catch up on learning.

In the past five years, more than 800,000 children, teenagers, and adults have attended primary or secondary schools, literacy courses or vocational trainings with the help of Helvetas.