Marina da Costa stands at the front desk of Timor-Leste's employment office, guiding job seekers through the digital portal that connects them to work—a role she has held for years with quiet expertise, until the day the system changed entirely. When SEFOPE, the Secretariat of State for Vocational Training and Employment, launched an upgraded version of its SIMU-Web Job Portal earlier this year, even experienced users found themselves disoriented by the modern, feature-rich interface. The solution came in April 2026, when the Agroforestry Skills Programme—funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Labour Organization in partnership with SEFOPE—organised a two-day training for 47 TVET trainers and employment officers from across Timor-Leste.
The training covered the practical essentials: registering job seekers and employers, posting vacancies, managing user profiles, listing training programmes, and promoting the platform to communities and institutions. For Marina, the outcome was both technical and personal. "I needed to understand the new interface because I'm the one who registers job seekers at the SEFOPE office," she reflected. "I'm grateful for the training. Now I can use it confidently and help others do the same." Her confidence mattered not just for her own work, but for every person who walked through the door seeking guidance toward formal employment.
Across the mountains in Manufahi municipality, vocational trainer Casimirio faced a related challenge at the Cablaqui Community Development Centre. Each year, his students graduated with technical skills but lacked the roadmap to employment. "Every year, we graduate many students who need jobs but lack guidance on finding work or further training, and we as trainers do not always know how to guide them," he said. The training shifted his perspective entirely. He realised his role extended beyond classroom instruction—he could actively connect graduates to opportunities by helping them register on the platform before they left school, giving them visibility to employers nationwide.
The experiences of Marina and Casimirio point to a fundamental truth that Timor-Leste's employment leadership understands: digital platforms only create real impact when the people using them have both the skills and the confidence to operate them effectively. Carlito Cabral, Director General of SEFOPE, framed the training as essential. "This platform only makes a difference if it is actively used," he said, recognising that counsellors and technical schoolteachers stand at the frontline of preparing young people for work.
The initiative builds on more than 15 years of collaboration between SEFOPE and the ILO, with sustained support from the European Union. Alexandrinha Costa, Director for Employment at SEFOPE and one of the trainers, captured an insight that extends beyond technology itself: "It is not enough to understand how the platform works. We also need to know how to make it accessible and useful for job seekers. Our role is to ensure it does not stay at the office level but reaches communities." As Timor-Leste modernises its employment services, this training represents a deliberate step to ensure that the bridge between vocational training and employment remains strong—not through technology alone, but through the people trained to make that connection real.