Over the past six months, the Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe (DWAZ), winner of the 1st ILO Skills Challenge Innovation Call, has received the support of the ILO to achieve its long-standing objective: realize decent work for domestic workers by providing them with a space to gain necessary skills to excel in their careers. DWAZ has now progressed with refined solutions, action plans and a building, where the innovation starts and flourish.

Upon winning the competitive call in September 2020, DWAZ was invited to the Skills Innovation Lab to refine, prototype and develop the proposed solution. They benefitted from the participation and contributions of over 25 experts in skills development and domestic workers, as well as ILO Constituents, other UN agencies, research institutions, academic and implementing partners, local partners, and potential beneficiaries.

With the unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, not only the awarded idea but also the co-development process to realize the idea has been unprecedentedly innovative. During the innovation bootcamp in November 2020, DWAZ and experts actively exchanged and developed their ideas through video calls, digital mind maps, and virtual break out rooms.

Having secured a suitable building to establish the Centre, the project is now accelerated to develop a formal training for domestic workers, often from rural parts of the country, in modern and urban home settings – to improve their employability and realise decent work through addressing the skills mismatch in the domestic work profession.