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International case studies

Our work to transform skills, training and professional standards has reached many nations around the world. Learn more about the impact of our solutions by reading our case studies below.

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Read the latest news from our projects across Central South America, the Middle East, Africa, wider Europe, the Western Balkans and Central Asia.

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Abu Dhabi

"Developing the tourism industry is a stated priority in Abu Dhabi’s drive to become a world-class destination for globally significant events. Working with and utilising the expertise of People 1st International in the field of developing skills for tourism and hospitality, resulted in the development of a new Tourist Guide Training Programme.The TGTP helped Tour Guides learn how best to represent Abu Dhabi’s history and culture, ensuring visitors enjoy their experience which will encourage them to keep returning, leading to long-term benefits for all stakeholders"
Patrick Lochrie, CEO, CareerNet

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Belize

"If we are to add value to our tourism product and capture a larger share of the global market then we need to ensure that our tourism businesses are performing as well as our competitors. Matching the skills required by business will bring jobs, investment and prosperity. Our colleges are now listening and acting upon the needs of our local employers and sending out students with the appropriate skills and qualifications."
Government of Belize

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Croatia

"Working with People 1st International has enabled us to develop a successful internship and mentoring programme to create a pipeline of talent for our member organisations and to offer career opportunities to young people across the country. In the first phase, over 135 companies registered 500 internships, and 166 mentors were trained. With the support of our partners, we have been able to develop strong relationships with universities and student groups to ensure that our programme is designed not only to meet our members’ skills requirements but, just as importantly, to meet the needs of the young people who will be the future of our country."
HUP

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Azerbajan

“The British Council is supporting Azerbaijan ministry reforms in TVET and working in particular in employer engagement and curriculum planning. One of the pilot areas is in the tourism sector; if Azerbaijan is to see its tourism market thrive, then public bodies need to listen to the employers, and the industry needs young people with the skills and education that match their needs. People 1st provided us with the expertise to train our trainers that allowed us to set up traineeships and apprenticeships, allowing us to share UK experience in TVET and tourism in particular with the sector in Azerbaijan"

British Council, Azerbaijan

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Chile

"This intervention is a useful measure of the effect of training on labor market productivity in the context of one of the largest retail firms in Latin America. The identification strategy relied on the experimental design, as well as individual-level longitudinal information gathered from the firm. The estimates suggest positive effects of the training program on sales and transactions per worker. This result is confirmed in the cost benefit analysis. The findings point towards the feasibility of increasing productivity with a high quality, well-designed and optimally delivered training program targeted to increase socio-emotional skills, specifically leadership and communication, identified as crucial in the productive process of the firm."
Gracianna Rucci , Lead Specialist, Labor Markets Economics, Inter-American Development Bank

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Egypt

"The Mall of Arabia was very keen to run the Five Star Service Programme and remind staff of the importance of proper customer service and its return to their businesses, there is great interest from tenants to send their staff to training that’s being operated by the Mall, especially when its customised and localised for the Mall itself. We had some good feedback from store owners and HR managers about the impact of the training on the staff and we have also been receiving positive feedback from mall visitors."
Zeina Abdel Azim, Customer Experience Manager

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Armenia

"The information, guidance and expertise provided by People 1st enabled the Armenian stakeholders to formulate overall role, vision, mission, as well as core remit, coverage, focus of the Sector Skills Development foundations. This provides a solid basis for addressing the VET policy of the country whilst also developing quick business orientated skills solutions."
Gayane Serobyan, GIZ Programme Expert - TVET and Employment Promotion

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Colombia

"The Eco Putumayo project is an important part of the British Council’s work in Colombia,
focusing on delivering a technical training programme for women in rural areas in the post-conflict. Working with People 1st, we have been able to meet our objectives to help a significant number of women to develop skills that will enable them to build a sustainable livelihood and better future for themselves, their families and communities. At the same time, we are helping to develop the country’s ecotourism industry which will deliver long-term benefits to the work
of conservationists and to the wider Colombian economy"
Bárbara De Castro, British Council

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Ghana

"The most useful about this VET Toolbox is how to create unit specifications, it should also be extended to more people to have the training."

"It has built my capacity to develop good CBT curriculum and the development of learning materials
based on COTVET standards."
Project beneficiaries

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Jordan

"Abdali Mall is now open for business and with the help and expertise from People 1st we have set up a training centre that is fully inclusive. Young men and women now have the opportunity to train for a career in retail and hospitality and the skills that they gain are directly matched to their employers needs. Our Train the Trainer programme builds the capacity and capability of our in-house staff to deliver a range of courses suited to industry requirements."
Suhair Albargouthi, Human Recourses Manager, Abdali Mall Company

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Kazakhstan

"People 1st International provided a great team of international experts who have supported us in developing and implementing improvements in our strategic human resource management systems. This will enable opportunities for workforce development to be improved for young people and will strengthen our collaboration with education."

Raushan Raiskhanova, Individual Enterprise HCR

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Panama

"ITSE prepares you for work because of the practical activities and the different teaching methods we receive compared to the usual typical university courses that are all theory. We will finish our course and be able to go straight into the workplace with all the necessary skills and attitudes. The course is only 2 years rather than 4 years, which makes it much more accessible to us. We are honoured and privileged to be here and we tell all our friends that they must enrol to be part of this unique learning experience that is so different to anything else here in Panama. ITSE is a second family and we love coming here to learn and the instructors are all so supportive."

ITSE Student Year 1

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Turkey

"This EBRD loan is not only helping a tyre manufacturer expand its business and capture market growth. It is also enabling a leading global player and a local business giant to create jobs and opportunities in one of the developing regions of the country. The new plant will have a pivotal role for the city of Aksaray and the entire region. We are confident it will boost the wider local economy."

Jean-Patrick Marquet, EBRD Director for Turkey

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Ukraine

"The British Council chose People 1st as a partner because we wanted to demonstrate excellence in volunteering throughout Eurovision 2017 and beyond in Kyiv and Ukraine. The volunteers work with artists, media, foreign delegations and guests of Eurovision 2017, as well as the production of television shows, Backstage and in the fan zones. They learnt skills to improve both communication and confidence in dealing with diverse guests and visitors to events and attractions in Ukraine and to become knowledgeable, articulate, security-conscious Ambassadors for their country."
Simon Williams, Director British Council, Ukraine

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Western Balkans

"Implementing the developed training modules has inspired us to raise the standard of community engagement and customer service to the next level"
Dragan Perišić, Marketing Director, Delta City Podgorica

"Whilst implementing the new modules, we reached out to engage the employees to work in a more focused way, becoming better in customer service whilst achieving a mutual goal in community engagement aligned with the company’s mission and vision"
Damjan Korubin, Marketing Manager, Skopje City Mall

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Jordan

"Our partnership with People 1st International and the support of EBRD have enabled us to extend the opportunities offered through the Abdali Mall Training Centre, not just to local people but also to young refugees from Syria, giving them the chance to train for a career in retail and hospitality. The success of the programme has meant that we are in a strong position to secure more donor funding to enable us to support young refugees, helping them to create sustainable futures for themselves and their families, while benefiting the community as a whole."
Suhair Albargouthi, Human Resourses Manager, Abdali Mall Company

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Panama

"In its mission to make the ITSE project a reality, the Panamanian Government has made the decision to apply only the best practices in technical education and learn from those who have achieved great success in this sphere. In this matter, People 1st has provided the support and information required to implement ITSE. Their expertise has been of a great value."

Ing. Maria Lourdes Peralta, Phd, Instituto Tecnico Superior del Este

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Latin America & Caribbean

"Once again, the joint work has been very valuable, timely and relevant, and we are optimistic that it will contribute to improving the lives of people in the region. People 1st International’s conviction, experience and knowledge in upskilling and reskilling solutions aligned with job and business opportunities adds value. And the professional and human level of its team makes it very pleasant to work together."

Graciana Rucci, Lead Specialist – Labor Markets Division, Inter-American Development Bank

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Turkey

"The knowledge sharing trip to the UK was an essential aspect providing experience of projects such as the SEMTA Skillsman Project and the apprenticeship between Warwick College and Jaguar Landrover. This was key for skills solutions that addressed: energy performance of production processes and of end products; advanced processes, robotics and use of advanced combined materials; info-techment and the use of ICT and wireless technologies."

Gunduz Gundalmsi, Tofas Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.S.

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UK

"We work closely with all our volunteers to ensure they have a positive, rewarding experience that will give them a step up in the world of work, developing the skills and confidence they need to make a difference in the workplace. People 1st have done a fantastic job of successfully training our Volunteer Ambassadors to deliver yet another successful Skills Show."

Clare Baars, Volunteering & Employability Manager, WorldSkills UK

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Western Balkans

"With the help and expertise of People 1st, we have now identified a range of projects to take forward. The reform process is underway across the region and we can see very encouraging results. Managing such a diverse group has it’s challenges but People 1st has contributed a great deal of experience and hands on knowledge in order for solutions to be developed"

Aleksandar Borisavljevic, Business Development Manager, British Council, Serbia

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Jordan

"Industry members have indicated an urgent need to develop the skills of casual staff employed in the industry for specific events and functions, and asked JHA to develop a solution that supports the professionalisation of this occupation. USAID / BEST contracted People 1st International to work closely with JHA for certification and licensing of casual waiters to work in hotel, events and restaurants banqueting and functions through the development and preparation of a complete and comprehensive training program guidelines, collaterals and pedagogical documents."

Vatché Yergatian, General Manager, Jordan Hotels Association

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Pakistan

"People 1st provided the expertise that is enabling us to set up a new sector skills council for tourism and hospitality. Our visit to the UK was most informative and helped shape our thinking. We are now implementing our plans and will draw on the expertise of People 1st to help us improve the education of our young people so that it matches the requirements of industry."

Sarah Parvez, Head of Higher Education and Skills, British Council Pakistan

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Philippines

"PCA adheres and has ingrained in all its national trainers that training is all about transformation and along the way lives and mindsets of those involved in these programmes have been transformed."

Earl Christopher M. Segales, PCA Foundation Project Manager, Philippine Constructors
Association Inc.

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Uganda

"After a few years, the Ugandan government realised that skills development in the tourism sector should be a priority as it brings a lot of income to Uganda and has the potential to create many jobs. This is a very important step in building sustainability for the future in the tourism sector in Uganda."

Hebert Byaruhanga, Chairman of the Tourism Sector Skills Council in Uganda

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Uzbekistan

"Through the expert guidance and support of People 1st, a vocational curriculum for tourism has been introduced that will create better opportunities for young people, promote the country and enable a professional and innovative tourism offer for the future in Uzbekistan."
Mr. Rakhmat Rustamov, Deputy-head of State Standards Department, Centre for Specialised Secondary Education of Uzbekistan

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