Rwanda: into the future with modern training and job placement

Rwanda is considered one of Africa’s rising economic stars: for many years, its economy has grown by between 6 per cent and 7 per cent annually. However, not everyone benefits from this increased prosperity. The majority of the population still works in agriculture and earn low incomes. Meanwhile, the number of young people entering the labour market is growing steadily.

Rwanda is therefore seeking to transform itself from an agricultural economy into a modern service economy. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is supporting the country. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ is advising Rwanda’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, the national economic promotion organisation, trade associations and Chambers of Commerce in improving the economic environment in the country. Small and medium-sized enterprises in the timber, tourism, ICT and creative sectors, e-commerce and logistics are receiving targeted support through a range of measures designed to improve their competitiveness.

Another key aspect of the project is to improve training for occupations that are in demand. With support from GIZ, the Ministry of Education and representatives of vocational schools and private companies have reviewed curricula and training occupation profiles. Their model is Germany’s dual vocational training system. Increasingly, companies are being directly involved in training, enabling apprentices to better meet the practical demands of the workplace. Training courses have also been developed for instructors at vocational schools and in-company trainers. 3,000 young people are currently enrolled at the 20 vocational schools receiving support from GIZ, and by the end of 2019, around 1,000 apprentices will have completed their training and be available to companies with their in-demand skills.

To facilitate contacts between job seekers and companies, GIZ is supporting the creation and development of public job centres. Working with the Government, it has also set up a job portal entitled Kora (Kinyarwanda for ‘commitment’). The Kora platform offers a wide range of online job placement services. Around a third of Rwanda’s population of 12 million make active and regular use of the internet, so it is easier to reach them this way. As well as job placement services, the job centres also offer continuing training. 1,000 jobseekers have taken part in targeted training courses, and three months after completing their training, 300 had found a job.