West African nations set up platform to boost vocational training

The stakeholder countries are Benin, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo, which are member States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), the Togolese national television reported.

The platform will help better adapt vocational training to employment and reduce unemployment in the six countries through best practices sharing, especially in agricultural and handicrafts sectors.

“In most of WAEMU countries, under schooling phenomenon and the problem of skills-mismatch are major constraint to socio-economic development,” Togolese minister of technical education and vocational training Georges Kwawu Aidam said.

The minister said in Togo, 55 percent of job seekers have not completed primary school, and 17 percent of the youth have no qualifications.

“Girls are significantly affected, as 23.4 percent of them have never attended school,” Aidam regretted. Enditem

Source: Xinhua