During the months of January and February 2008, there were four construction workshops held in Paktika Province: one in Sharana, one at Orgun-E, and two in Paktika.  The goal of the skilled labor workshops is to provide Afghans with the skills and construction leadership abilities to find steady employment. The biggest challenge following the skill labor workshops is finding employment for the students who complete the training. Provincial Reconstruction Teams have taken major strides in assisting Afghans in this challenge by developing skill labor workshops, educating them in site safety management, and hiring graduates to work on projects involving both stick built and brick and mortar buildings.

     The students attended a seven-day workshop where they learned job safety, basic tool use, and basic carpentry.  At the end of the course, the students competed against each other in the construction of tool sheds.  They also received the tools they used throughout the course and a certificate of training.  These are the second and third workshops held this year, the first one being in Jalalabad.  The tools, meals, and materials were all financed through US Commander’s Emergency Response Program funds. More than 50 Afghans from local areas participated in the training