Cameroon: Officials of the Ministry of Employment say vocational training is the foundation for every meaningful development

Vocational training is the foundation for every meaningful development and copying the good side of policies for a change in society and most especially for a better number of Cameroon’s employment performance is nothing bad, says the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, MINEFOP, Zacharie Perevet. The Minister has vowed to transform Cameroon’s vocational training and employment sector to what holds in a partner country, South Korea where vocational training takes pride of place in the country’s growth drive. Chairing the opening ceremony of the annual conference of MINEFOP in Yaounde yesterday February 4, 2016, Minister Perevet stated that his management was committed to tapping from Korea to enhance its human resources.

Staff of the Ministry will on the theme ; « Vocational Training and Growth and Employment Promising Sectors » seek to harmonise policies and strategies that can scale up employment figures, explained Comfort Ngu Fomede, Technical Adviser N° 1. She said the Ministry was working towards directing all vocational training programmes towards the needs of the job market. Promising sectors like esthetics, wood work, industrial plumbing, electricity, automation, Information and Communication Technologies, hotel managemnt and tourism have been cited amongst the good employment specialities. She stated that the three advanced vocational training centres in Douala, Limbe and Sangmelima constructed and equipped with the support of the Korean government will train trainers and job seekers in many specialities that fall within promising sectors. The Ministry will in 2016 facilitate and promote job creation through the operationalisation of the centres. Specialities were identified in collaboration with enterprises employing job seekers, it was disclosed. 

The Minister stressed that any vocational training centre to go operational in Cameroon must henceforth answer an employment need that has been clearly identified. The professional insertion of youths into the job market is slow, according to MINEFOP estimates which stand at 30-40 per cent. This figure is beyond expectation, but Zacharie Perevet says they are working towards turning the tides. Experts are reflecting on issues like ; « Job Market and Socio-professional Insertion of Youth : Focus on Growth Promising Sectors, » « Public-Private Partnership and the Financing of Professional Training, » and « Conclusions and Prospects of the National Forum on Apprenteeship in Cameroon.» The annual conference ends today February 5, 2016 with a ceremony to wish Minister Zacharie Perevet best wishes for 2016.