Fostering Economic Growth
through Education and Training

Aligning Skills with Market Demand

Education and training are fundamental drivers for economic growth and development. When aligned with the skills required by the private sector, especially technical education and vocational training pave important avenues into employment for young individuals. Their practical approach endeavors to equip learners with a comprehensive and relevant spectrum of expertise, encompassing both technical proficiencies and behavioural competencies. This shall ultimately ensure their seamless integration into the workforce over the long term.

On top of that, the needs of companies in the private sector are continually evolving in today's dynamic business environment. This constant change requires a special skillset of the workforce to successfully shape the structural metamorphosis of economies.

Côte d'Ivoire has set itself a target of creating four million jobs by 2025, a goal that mandates the country's transition towards greater industrialisation and digitalisation. To achieve this, it is imperative to better align technical education and vocational training in the country with the demands of the private sector. This entails fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors to forge connections and partnerships which help bridge the current gap between training offers and employment demands.

Empowering Youth to find Employment

Invest for Jobs and the European Union support the vocational training programme FORPRODE – Projet de Perfectionnement Professionnel Orienté par l’Offre d’Emplois du Secteur Privé – in Côte d’Ivoire. The programme was initiated in close alignment with private companies in the fields of industrial mechanics and digital technology. Based but not limited to an initial needs assessment, the companies have been given room to significantly shape the development of training courses to ensure their practical relevance for the job market. Through skills training in alignment with private companies and their needs, unemployed professionals shall receive the skills needed to fill job vacancies crucial for the further development of these sectors.

FORPRODE was officially launched in May 2023. "Our collaboration with the public and private sectors, along with professional associations, solidified through memorandums of understanding, positions these institutions as the vanguard of our vocational training initiative," stated Francesca Di Mauro, the European Union Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire.

Two training courses are being offered, hosted by and taught at already established local training institutions: Training for the digital technology sector, which is set to equip participants within six months, and training in industrial mechanics which will extend over a period of four to five months. Both training programmes will adhere to an instructional model that emphasises hands-on immersion, including internships within private sector enterprises operating in the designated sectors. The training sessions will be conducted at institutions located both in Abidjan and inland, with a notable presence in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire’s capital.

With its practical approach FORPRODE aspires to establish its vocational trainings as a national benchmark, acknowledged by the wider community, businesses, and professionals alike, for its outstanding training programmes and the caliber of its graduates.

René Megela, the project's component leader at Invest for Jobs, emphasises the significance of this initiative: "It's essential for private sector firms to progressively enhance their productivity and to promptly address their needs for technical and professional skills. This initiative represents a tangible approach to bolstering the competitiveness of companies in Côte d'Ivoire."

Employment Opportunities for Graduates

Since May 2023 training contents for both courses have been developed in close alignment with technical experts, private companies and the hosting training institutions. Young people aged 18 to 35, with a special focus being put on women, who have finished their school education and have attained some first experience in industrial mechanics or digital technology can apply for courses at the partnering training institutions. The training programmes are free of charge for the selected participants. The first cohort, consisting of 38 participants in the digital technology sector and 40 participants in the industrial mechanic sector commenced their vocational training in April 2024.

At the culmination of their training, the programme's graduates are anticipated to integrate into private sector enterprises or leverage their acquired skills to establish themselves as independent technicians. Upon successful completion of the programme, graduates in the digital technology sector receive an internationally recognised certificate. Thanks to the project’s close collaboration with private companies, these certified individuals will stand out as highly qualified and well-educated candidates on the job market.

This way the initiative endeavors to generate up to 650 new employment opportunities, which the participating private enterprises have formally pledged to offer to successful programme graduates within a span of two years from the commencement of the training initiative.

The FORPRODE project is cofinanced by the European Union and is supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH within the framework of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition" on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).