Baghdad

Iraqi American Chamber of Commerce and Industry through its Tadrib Iraq program is engaged in a number of training projects at this time, in this section we will describe the important ones:

New Existing SME’s
Training of New and Existing SME’s and Aspiring Professionals in Baghdad
The overall goal of the SME training program is to equip aspiring and current micro and small private sector enterprises with intellectual and professional capacity to develop and expand as well as prospective professionals seeking positions in existing companies to acquire the skills needed to find a job.

Problem / Solution
As we witness the transformation of Iraq from decades of neglect and totalitarianism into a free society based on freedom of expression, democracy, free trade and the rule of law, Iraq will require massive infusion of capital and investment in all fields and sectors from infrastructure to upgrading and training human capital to rebuild Iraq. Currently Baghdad, as the capital of a united Iraq, is ruled by a series of militias and splinter groups competing with legitimate police forces. Moreover, a large percentage of the police and Iraqi security forces are loyal to particular political currents and parties, untrusted by the majority of the Iraqi populace.
Right now Iraq is on the edge of the tipping point and Baghdad is the fulcrum. A slight push in the right direction could make the difference between plunge into civil war or slow but steady recovery of a society into stability.
There are many individuals who, given the opportunity, would gladly put their energies into building their country, but lack the sufficient initiative or basic capital to begin a project that could employ not only that person, but others as well. By providing simple encouragement in the form of a material “push” in the direction of economic activation through capacity building, small businesses will begin to form and expand, engaging individuals who are owners and employees of micro-small enterprises in productive activities. The alternative to these productive activities is destructive involvement in militia activities and/or non-participation taking the form of reclusion or fleeing the country altogether at a time when positive involvement in the economy has never been more needed.

Program Methodology
Program Goals and Objectives / Target Trainees / Locations / Curriculum / Trainee Group 1 Courses / Trainee Group 2 Courses

Goals and Objectives
The overall goal of the SME training program is to equip aspiring and current micro and small private sector enterprises with intellectual and professional capacity to develop and expand as well as prospective professionals seeking positions in existing companies to acquire the skills needed to find a job.
By providing this infusion of intellectual capital, IACCI will equip a business or aspiring professional individuals with the ability to begin a meaningful career, or expand or start up a business. In both cases, IACCI is equipping individuals who are potential or existing business leaders with the ability to find jobs, or create jobs for others to fill.
Along with the training, IACCI wants to see trainees benefit from their new skills through finding business or employment opportunities following the completion of their training. Trainees completing the training will be provided with basic tool-kits that will assist them in keeping their new skills sharp and make them attractive to potential employers, or be grafted into the small grant program that IACCI is directing for IRD, should they qualify.

Target Trainees
IACCI will pre-qualify all trainees through a process of completion of forms that require information that will assist IACCI in assessing the need for training along with the potential to quickly accept and acquire the new skills that will be taught. IACCI will solicit training applicants through advertising in mass media channels, such as newspapers and billboards, as well as from the IACCI membership body and grant applicants.
Targeted trainees will consist primarily of two main groups: the first is the prospective or existing owner/manager of a micro or small business who could be a prime target for benefiting from the IACCI/IRD grant program upon completion of training. The second group of targeted trainees consists of those persons who are looking for work as government of large company employees, in need of administration, sales and marketing, or finance skills.