Context
Although around 300,000 young people reach working age in Senegal every year, companies in growth sectors have difficulty finding qualified workers. The vocational education and training system is currently unable to train enough workers with the qualifications sought by the private sector.
Better coordination between the vocational education and training offered and the needs of the labour market is therefore a key prerequisite for promoting sustainable economic growth and prospects for decent employment. Vocational education and training is a high priority for the Senegalese Government, which aims for 30 per cent of primary school leavers to enter vocational training by 2030, compared with 13 per cent in 2030.
Objective
Formal vocational education and training is more oriented towards the needs of the private sector.
Approach
As part of the German-Senegalese reform partnership, the project is active in three fields of action:
It advises state institutions in order to make the management of the vocational education and training system more uniform, more inclusive and more geared to the labour market.
It promotes permanent and systematic cooperation between the state and the private sector in vocational education and training both in general and in five specific sectors of the economy. Moreover, with the ‘Formation Ecole-Entreprise’ programme (training in schools and companies), it strengthens a cooperative training strategy that the Government and private sector are implementing together.
In the economic regions of Dakar, Diourbel, Kaolack, Saint-Louis, Thiès and Ziguinchor, the project is supporting the development of cooperative training in line with the ‘Formation Ecole-Entreprise’ concept. To begin with, the aim is to train 1,000 young people in 12 promising professions, at least 40 per cent of whom are women.
Finally, the project the project supports the digital transformation of the vocational education and training system ad the administrative level and through the use of digital approaches in training.