Building Futures in Fragility: Vocational Education As a Pathway to Empower Somali Youth and Communities

This paper explores the long-term outcomes, challenges, and strategic significance of Sayid Mohamed Technical Education College (SaMTEC), a vocational training institution in Somalia's conflict-affected Gedo region. It highlights SaMTEC's role in promoting youth employment, gender empowerment, social cohesion, and peacebuilding by offering market-relevant skills to at-risk youth, inclusive enrollment, and community-based engagement. The findings affirm the programme's impact in providing alternatives to radicalisation and economic marginalisation. However, the study also identifies key constraints, including limited access to startup capital, delayed employment, gender-specific barriers, and weak post-training support systems, which affect scalability and sustainability. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to strengthen job placement, expand financial access, foster public-private partnerships, and integrate vocational education into national peacebuilding strategies. As Somalia continues its recovery, SaMTEC's experience demonstrates the transformative potential of technical education grounded in local realities and sustained by strategic investment.