Twenty-five spots. That’s the maximum size of each Shiraka training cohort, which makes this genuinely one of the more intimate international professional development opportunities open to MENA region civil servants — and one most people outside government service have never heard of.
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The 2026 Social Affairs and Employment course closed its application window on February 8, 2026, and its two-part structure is currently midway through: participants completed the first week in Amman, Jordan, back in June, and are now heading toward the second week in The Hague, running September 14 to 18, 2026. If you’re a civil servant in one of the eligible MENA countries thinking about applying for a future cycle, understanding exactly what this programme demands — and what participants are expected to produce afterwards — matters more than the headline benefits.
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A Dutch Government Initiative With Real Diplomatic Weight
The Shiraka Programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, designed specifically to strengthen bilateral relations between the Netherlands and the Middle East and North Africa region. It isn’t a single training course — Shiraka runs multiple thematic tracks each year, covering areas including water management, food safety, public financial management, legislation, local governance, entrepreneurship, and digital transformation, alongside the Social Affairs and Employment course covered here. Each track is developed and led by the Hague Academy for Local Governance, a non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening local democracy worldwide.
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The broader Shiraka mission is explicitly diplomatic as much as educational — supporting societies that respect cultural and religious diversity, states that uphold the rule of law and protect human rights and minorities, and economies that foster genuine prosperity and employment. That framing shapes the Social Affairs and Employment course specifically: it’s built to deepen participants’ knowledge of employment policy for underserved groups — youth, women, people with disabilities, and informal-sector workers — while building lasting professional networks between MENA civil servants and their Dutch counterparts.
Shiraka Training Programme Summary
| Scholarship Name ⇒ | Shiraka Training Programme |
| Host Country ⇒ | Netherlands |
| Study Level ⇒ | Training |
| Benefits ⇒ | Fully or partially funded, depending on your country’s OECD-DAC status |
| Funded by ⇒ | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (Shiraka Programme), delivered by the Hague Academy for Local Governance |
| Eligible Countries ⇒ | Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Tunisia |
| Application Deadline ⇒ | 2026 cycle closed February 8, 2026, at 23:59 CET. Training is currently underway, with Part 2 running September 14–18, 2026 |
What Participants Actually Do
Beyond classroom sessions, the programme is built around direct exposure to Dutch institutions and structured peer learning. Participants take part in study visits to organisations including the Netherlands Social and Economic Council (SER), the Netherlands Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, and the Jordanian National Commission for Women, giving direct, firsthand exposure to how these institutions actually operate rather than relying on lecture-based instruction alone.
Each participant is also required to design a Back Home Action Plan — a concrete proposal for applying what they’ve learned within their own government context. Past participants’ plans have included empowering marginalised youth in rural areas through targeted workshops and social dialogue, addressing skills mismatches among female university graduates through job fairs and entrepreneurship training, and supporting rural workers transitioning from informal to formal employment through structured coaching. This isn’t a passive certificate programme — participants leave with a genuine, individualised plan they’re expected to work toward implementing.
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for the Shiraka Social Affairs and Employment training, applicants generally need to meet the following:
- You must be a civil servant, working for the government, a government body, or a government-related organisation — some Shiraka tracks accommodate semi-public organisation staff, though this varies by specific course
- You must be from one of the eligible target countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, the Palestinian Territories, or Tunisia
- You must have between 5 and 10 years of relevant work experience specifically in social affairs and employment
- You must not have participated in any Shiraka training programme before — this is explicitly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and prior Shiraka participants in any thematic track are excluded from applying again
- An intermediate level of English is recommended, given that sessions are conducted in English, though live interpretation is available in Arabic and/or French
- Women are strongly encouraged to apply, reflecting the programme’s stated commitment to diversity among participants
Because the “once-in-a-lifetime” rule applies across all Shiraka tracks, not just Social Affairs and Employment specifically, civil servants who’ve previously attended a different Shiraka course — water management or public financial management, for instance — are not eligible to apply for this one either.
What the Programme Provides
Program funding and administrative support are calibrated according to the official OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) List of Official Development Assistance (ODA) Recipients. Understanding your country’s classification determines which direct expenses are covered and highlights the self-funded logistics required prior to enrollment.
1. Financial & Logistical Funding Coverage
Category A: Participants from OECD-DAC List Recipient Countries
For eligible civil servants representing developing economies or ODA-recipient nations on the OECD-DAC list (e.g., lower-to-middle-income MENA territories):
- International Airfare & Travel: Full round-trip economy flights between the participant’s home country and the host training locations.
- Accommodation & Meals: Official lodging for the duration of the modules, along with full meal coverage (breakfast, lunch, dinner) on active training days.
- Visa & Health Insurance: Reimbursement or direct coverage for entry visas and comprehensive international health insurance for the full study period.
- Instructional Costs: 100% tuition coverage for all academic modules, training materials, site visits, and institutional field trips.
Category B: Participants from Non-OECD-DAC Countries
For civil servants representing high-income, non-recipient states (e.g., select GCC nations):
- Covered In-Country Costs: Full tuition waiver, official program accommodation, health insurance, and training day catering.
- Participant Responsibility (Self-Funded Logistics): Participants (or their sponsoring government ministries) must independently cover and arrange their own international travel, flights, and transit costs to and from the training destinations.
2. Specialized Curriculum & Competency Development
Beyond financial benefits, the curriculum combines technical policy expertise with high-level administrative management skills:
A. Core Policy Expertise (Social Affairs & Employment)
- Labor Market Governance: Strategic policy design targeting employment creation, labor market integration, informal economy formalization, and youth/female workforce participation across the MENA region.
- Social Protection Systems: Comparative analysis of social safety nets, pension systems, unemployment insurance schemes, and social assistance frameworks.
B. Practical Management & Leadership Skills
- Change Management: Frameworks for introducing structural administrative reforms within government ministries and public institutions.
- Project Management & Delivery: Methodologies for managing public-sector initiatives, tracking performance metrics, and maintaining budgetary control.
- Negotiation & Strategic Communication: Skills for resolving stakeholder conflicts, coordinating multi-ministerial initiatives, and managing trilateral dialogues between government, employers, and labor unions.
- Cross-Border Teamwork: Collaborative exercises simulating real-world international policy coordination and joint task force dynamics.
3. Professional Certification & International Networking
- Official Certificate of Participation: Issued upon successful completion of all required modules, attendance benchmarks, and capstone practical assignments.
- Institutional Study Visits: On-site immersion visits to host-country public agencies, social security institutions, and employment centers to observe practical operational models.
- Peer Learning & Regional Network: Establishes a lasting professional network among MENA civil servants, facilitating ongoing knowledge-sharing, cross-border policy comparisons, and regional administrative collaboration long after program completion.
A Cancellation Policy Worth Knowing
One detail that catches some prospective applicants off guard: if a selected participant cancels within four weeks of the training start date, the organising body may claim associated costs directly from that participant’s employer. This is a meaningful commitment mechanism, and prospective applicants should confirm genuine availability and institutional support before applying, rather than treating selection as a flexible option to withdraw from casually close to the start date.
Required Documents
Applications for the Shiraka Training Course on Social Affairs and Employment are processed exclusively online via the official Shiraka training portal. Because the program enforces a strict intake cap of 25 participants per cohort and caters specifically to mid-to-senior civil servants with 5 to 10 years of professional experience, the review committee evaluates applications through a highly competitive, policy-oriented lens.
To build a compelling application, each component must showcase not only your professional credentials but also your capacity to act as a change agent within your home ministry or public institution.
1. Online Application Form & Personal Data
- Submission Channel: Completed directly on the official Shiraka training management portal.
- Core Bio-Data: Full legal name (matching international passport details exactly), official citizenship, current residential address, and institutional contact details.
- Employer Endorsement: Official declaration confirming active employment as a civil servant or public sector employee within an eligible MENA ministry (e.g., Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Labor, Employment Promotion Agencies, or related semi-public institutions).
2. Professional Background & Targeted Work Experience
Because the course targets professionals with 5 to 10 years of direct experience, generic CV entries or broad job descriptions will significantly weaken an application. Your work history narrative must explicitly detail:
- Policy & Operational Alignment: Specific involvement in labor market governance, social safety nets, informal economy formalization, vocational training frameworks, or youth/female employment initiatives.
- Leadership & Decision-Making Scope: Tangible evidence of managing public programs, leading inter-departmental task forces, or contributing directly to policy design and regulatory reforms.
- Institutional Context: A clear outline of your department’s mandate, key institutional challenges, and your direct sphere of influence within the ministry.
3. The Back-Home Action Plan (BHAP) Proposal
The Back-Home Action Plan (BHAP) serves as the central evaluation instrument of your application. The selection panel uses the BHAP to gauge whether offering you one of the 25 cohort seats will yield measurable institutional impact in your home country.
Your proposal must directly link the training topics (e.g., Dutch social partner models, employment strategies, change management) to a concrete administrative project you intend to execute upon return.
Key Framework for a Winning BHAP Narrative:
- A. Problem Identification: Define a clear, high-priority challenge within your country’s social affairs or employment sector (e.g., fragmented social protection delivery, high youth unemployment, or inefficient labor registration systems).
- B. Proposed Intervention: Outline a realistic policy or operational change you can realistically initiate or drive within 6 to 12 months following the course.
- C. Institutional Feasibility: Explain how your current job position provides the authority, network, and resources required to implement the action plan.
- D. Knowledge Transfer: Detail how you will share training insights, tools, and methodologies with colleagues and leadership across your organization.
4. Supplementary Documentation & Formal Approvals
- Letter of Employer Support / Approval Form: Official authorization signed by your line manager, Head of Department, or Ministry Secretary, granting permission for your full-time participation in both training modules (international travel and online commitments).
- Copy of Valid International Passport: High-resolution bio-data page scan (valid for at least 6 months beyond the training dates) for visa processing and travel arrangements.
- English Proficiency Proof: Self-declaration or official proof demonstrating intermediate-to-advanced English communication skills (the primary working language for lectures, peer exchanges, and action planning).
How to Apply for the Next Cycle
The 2026 window is closed, but Shiraka has run its thematic tracks on a consistent enough annual pattern to prepare against:
- Watch the official Shiraka training courses portal for the announcement of the next Social Affairs and Employment cycle, expected to open around the end of the current year based on this cycle’s timing.
- Confirm you haven’t previously participated in any Shiraka training track, since this is a strict, one-time-only eligibility rule across the entire programme.
- Prepare a clear account of your 5-to-10 years of relevant work experience in social affairs and employment.
- Register or log in to the Shiraka portal once applications open, and complete the online application form fully.
- Confirm genuine institutional and personal availability for the full two-part training schedule before applying, given the cancellation policy tied to your employer.
- Submit your complete application well before the stated deadline, given the programme’s tight 25-participant cap per cohort.
Application Deadline
The 2026 Social Affairs and Employment cycle’s application deadline was Sunday, February 8, 2026, at 23:59 CET, and has now closed. Part 1 of the training took place in Amman, Jordan, from June 7 to 11, 2026, and Part 2 is scheduled in The Hague, Netherlands, from September 14 to 18, 2026 — meaning the current cohort’s training is still actively underway as of this writing. Based on the programme’s annual cycle, the next Social Affairs and Employment application window is likely to open toward the end of 2026, following a similar pattern to this cycle’s opening.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Shiraka Social Affairs and Employment programme still accepting applications for 2026?
No. The application window closed on February 8, 2026. The current cohort is mid-training, having completed Part 1 in Jordan in June, with Part 2 in the Netherlands running September 14–18, 2026.
Can I apply if I’ve participated in a different Shiraka training track before?
No. The “once-in-a-lifetime” rule applies across all Shiraka programmes, not just Social Affairs and Employment specifically — prior participation in any Shiraka course excludes you from applying to another.
Is the training fully funded for everyone?
It depends on your country’s OECD-DAC classification. Participants from OECD-DAC countries have travel, accommodation, meals, visa, insurance, and tuition all covered. Participants from non-OECD-DAC countries have accommodation, insurance, and tuition covered, but need to arrange their own international travel.
How many people are selected for each cohort?
A maximum of 25 participants per course, making this a genuinely small, tightly selected training cohort.
What happens if I’m selected but need to cancel close to the start date?
If you cancel within four weeks of the training start date, the organising body may claim associated costs directly from your employer, so confirm genuine availability before applying.
Do I need advanced English to participate?
An intermediate level is recommended. Sessions are conducted in English, but live interpretation is available in Arabic and/or French for participants who need it.
Disclaimer: All programme details, deadlines, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official sources as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on the official Shiraka training courses portal before applying. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands or the Hague Academy for Local Governance.
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