An important aspect of Rwanda’s development and stability in the last decade has been the country’s national Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program. From the onset, the country’s DDR program has been closely linked to economic development and social inclusion efforts which in turn have contributed to economic and social parity between ex-combatants and civilians. The central objective Rwanda’s Demobilization and Reintegration Programme (RDRP) has been to support ex-combatants in their efforts to be reintegrated into social and economic networks of the civilian society. It is in this context that the Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission has offered vocational skills training as an integral component of the reintegration effort, with the hope that it would be a catalyst towards sustainable employment.

This report details the findings from a research study of outcomes of the vocational training provided to ex-combatant beneficiaries through the RDRP. Implementing DDR programs for more than a decade, Rwanda’s reintegration experiences and the country’s DDR vocational training framework provide an important opportunity to explore the factors that may influence the sustainability and efficacy of vocational training and reintegration outcomes.