January 2016—Sanam Rahmani, a young Afghan mother with a 1-year-old son, was studying in a two-year teacher training program to teach Uzbek literature at local schools in rural northern Faryab province.

Then Taliban threats forced the school to close.

With her husband and son, Rahmani fled, moving to her parent’s home in Mazar-e-Sharif, and began looking unsuccessfully for work. A friend told her about a training program in the construction sector—especially for women—through the Afghanistan Workforce Development Program.

Rahmani now works at Yadgar Construction Co. “This job literally saved our life as it is my family’s main support,” said Rahmani, 22. Her husband only has irregular work as a driver’s assistant due to the challenging economic situation in the country.

The 20-day course in July 2015 taught Rahmani how to use Primavera software to help manage construction projects. Since early August, she has been doing mid-level administrative work for the engineering firm. Nineteen other female classmates were also trained in Primavera software and placed in administrative positions in the construction field in Mazar-e-Sharif.

A USAID-funded labor market survey in 2011 found that the construction sector needed mid-level workers. Previously, most workers were hired from Pakistan, India and other countries. By hiring locally, employers build Afghanistan’s workforce and save money.

“I feel my employer is happy with my work as he has never expressed any complaint and I am helpful to the organization,” said Rahmani.

The company has already raised her salary 4 percent. And having stable work is also allowing her to renew her studies and begin midwifery training.

Since 2012, the four-year Afghanistan Workforce Development Program has trained about 25,000 skilled Afghans. Over 15,000 have been placed and promoted with salary increases in semi-professional employment—36 percent of whom are women. The program trains qualified Afghans to meet private sector demands in areas such as project and financial management, marketing, and information and communications technology.

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