Think Creative - Issue 4

CreativeAssociatesInternational.com | 19 “Demand went up in the market and we decid- ed to expand our business,” says Fayez. “We opened new branches in other provinces. Not only one branch, we have established several branches, and it has had a positive impact on our business.” Communications and networking skills Sadia Abbassy is one of 50 employees at the Kabul-based VICE Group w ho completed one of the courses developed by the Afghanistan Workforce Development Program. VICE Group, which has business lines that include internet service and plastic manu- facturing, selected employees for training in marketing, programmanagement, finance and more. In the marketing seminars, for example, Abbas- sy says they learned how to conduct market analyses, identify the best target audience and apply resources to achieve a company’s goals. Across the different trainings, Abbassy noticed that she and her colleagues greatly improved in two key areas — communications and profes- sional networking. “Their behavior and their community net- working are much better, and I am seeing a big change among them,” says Abbassy, who heads VICE Group’s Human Resources Department. “They should know how to network and why it is good for them and the company where they work.” Through networking, companies learn of potential new employees and possible part- ners. For employees, it builds self-confidence and expands their list of contacts for future employment. In addition to all the benefits for both the company and the employees, she says she feels the AfghanistanWorkforce Development Program’s training sessions were an excellent opportunity for women to grow professionally in her country. “This was outstanding. I have the best feeling of my life in these trainings, because when I joined these trainings at the start of my work, I was thinking that women are so far away from the professional world and professional envi- ronment of working,” says Abbassy. “It helped me to have the feeling that yes, women can be at any position that they want.” Indeed, the AfghanistanWorkforce Devel- opment Program originally set a goal that 25 percent of trainees would be women. Ultimate- ly, women comprised 36 percent of graduates, more than 15,800 in total. Of them, 10,250 went on to obtain new or better jobs, far exceeding the program’s original expectations. Building a better Afghanistan More than building employees’ skills and help- ing businesses to grow, the program contrib- uted to something even bigger, its participants say. Yari, the Kabul-based trainer with Pesco, says standing in front of groups of students who are eager to learn the intricacies of finance and business is very exciting. She says there is one other important moti- vating factor: “I feel proud that I am doing something for my country, for youth and also for job seekers.” n With reporting fromKabul and Mazar-e-Sharif by Aziz Gulbahari. Sadia Abbassy and VICE Group colleagues discuss projects at their office in Kabul. A shopper picks up cakes from Almobashir Food Industries at a store in Mazar-e-Sharif. A group of women wrap up their yoga class at Kabul’s first all-female studio, whose owner completed AWDP training. Mahammad Nawab Sarabi, general manager of Tala Dairy, which received AWDP training, checks out retail products at a Kabul shop. 36% of AWDP’s trainees were women