SENEGAL-FORMATION-JEUNESSE / One hundred thousand young people targeted by a vocational training and integration program

On Wednesday, Mohamadou Moctar Watt, Governor of the Kaolack region (central France), officially launched the activities of the Vocational Training and Integration Program (PFPI), which targets 100,000 young people nationwide, 70% of whom are young women.

This program is an extension of the Projet d'Amélioration des Performances de Travail et d'Entrepreneuriat au Sénégal (APTE-Sénégal).

Implemented from 2016 to 2021, this program aimed to institutionalize youth employability within the education system.

Taking into account the "satisfactory" results observed following the various evaluations of the APTE-Sénégal project, the Mastercard Foundation has set up a multi-sector team.

The team is made up of the Centre for the Development of Education (EDC-Sénégal), the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Vocational Training, which are responsible for developing the PFPI.

The project is to be implemented in the country's 14 regions over a five-year period (2023-2028). It will "continue and amplify" the intervention of the APTE-Senegal project, by supporting young boys and girls, men and women, in their transition to employment by strengthening their entrepreneurial skills.

"During our country's last demographic census, the statistics showed that we have an extremely young population representing over 50% of the population. It's a young population, but it also has a lot of expectations, a lot of needs", recalled the governor of the Kaolack region.

According to him, while "many initiatives have been taken in Senegal over the years by all of the regimes that have succeeded one another", there is still a long way to go.However, we have to "admit that we haven't yet been satisfied" in this area.

Mohamadou Moctar Watt points out that, every year, between 200,000 and 300,000 young people knock on the doors of the job market, "unfortunately without being able to justify their know-how or skills".

To win "the battle" of youth employment, Mr. Watt maintains that it's not enough just to focus on access to financing.

"That's why we've decided to change the paradigm and focus on vocational training. This is where the PFPI comes in," he explained.

Source: aps.sn/