“Even My Family Has Benefited”: How Skills Training Turned Alex’s Life Around in Rural Tanzania

This is the remarkable journey of Alex Jackson, a young man from Mkalama Village in Tanzania’s Morogoro region whose life was transformed by the power of skills training. After finishing secondary school, Alex found himself stuck - no further education, no formal employment, and days filled with small household tasks while searching for a way forward.

But in 2023, opportunity knocked.

Through the Skills for Employment Tanzania (SET) project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) via the Embassy of Switzerland in Tanzania and implemented by Swisscontact in partnership with Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), Alex joined a cohort of 300 out-of-school youth trained in modern maize production - a pathway designed to unlock meaningful, sustainable income for rural youth.

From Brickmaking to Maize Farming Success

The SET project reflects Swisscontact’s global approach to inclusive economic development: equipping young people with both technical and soft skills to seize opportunities, improve livelihoods, and strengthen local economies.

For Alex, this combination of skills was life changing.

“After attending the SET training, I cultivated one acre of maize and a quarter acre of okra,” he explains. “I sold my harvest for over 1.5 million Tanzanian shillings. With that money, I bought a television, decoder, antenna, and speaker- opened a kiosk where people gather to watch football. Now I earn income not only from my farm but also from the kiosk.

Inspiring a Whole Family and Community

Alex’s success has had ripple effects at home. His father proudly shares: “He taught us to make natural agricultural pesticides that are cheaper and safer than what we used before!”

His mother adds: “Now he farms using irrigation, not just waiting for rain. We’re so proud!”

Beyond his household, Alex’s story inspires other young people across Gairo district to see agriculture not as a fallback, but as a smart, profitable career - one that doesn’t require a university degree to succeed.

“After this harvest, I’ll be able to buy my own acre of land,” says Alex. “That will reduce my expenses, as I currently rent land. My achievements are thanks to the skills and knowledge I gained through the SET project. I’m grateful to the donors and implementers who brought this training to us.”

Swisscontact: Building Skills for Inclusive Growth in Tanzania

Swisscontact’s work in Tanzania is centered on one mission: expanding opportunities for youth and smallholder farmers to access productive, income-generating activities. Through projects like SET, Swisscontact provides not just technical expertise, but a holistic package of entrepreneurship, life skills, and market access - ensuring young people like Alex can grow into confident, resilient contributors to their local economies.

In Tanzania, where agriculture remains a cornerstone of livelihoods, empowering youth with relevant, market-oriented skills is key to unlocking rural potential and driving inclusive growth.

Alex’s journey is proof that when young people are equipped with the right tools, they can turn local challenges into opportunities - lifting not only themselves but also their families and communities toward a better future.