Burkina Faso
Vocational training in Burkina Faso
Equipping youth in Burkina Faso with skills so they can enter the workforce
Education & Training
The Need
In Burkina Faso, unemployment presents a serious challenge for youth and young adults. Although the average unemployment rate sits at 4 per cent, 6.5 per cent of young people age 16 to 24 are unemployed. While in the Compassion Sponsorship Program, young men and women have access to mentorship and education on subjects like literacy and mathematics. However, as youth get closer to graduating the program, they are terrified of joining the large number of unemployed workers in their communities.
Unfortunately, the general education system in Burkina Faso is not preparing enough graduates for the workforce. There is a mismatch between the graduate’s skills and the employers’ needs. While many students do graduate from school, 23 per cent find themselves jobless due to high competition for local, in-demand jobs. For every civil service job available, there are approximately 273 applicants competing for the position.
To reduce the gap between the skills graduates have and available jobs, more students need access to vocational training opportunities. Without hands-on training, many young people will continue to face unemployment and repeat generational cycles of poverty. However, accessing improved training is another challenge for youth experiencing poverty in Burkina Faso. Training programs are expensive and many caregivers who rely on subsistence farming and petty trading simply cannot afford program fees.
Compassion’s church partners in Burkina Faso want to help young men and women access vocational training through programs like hairdressing, sewing, computer maintenance, welding, carpentry, HVAC and plumbing. Although centre staff do provide young people with some vocational training during program days, much of their resources and funds go towards secondary school tuition fees and support. Without vocational training, the young people graduating Compassion’s program have little hope for the future.
Our Response
Thanks to your generosity, our church partners in the Bobo East, North and West areas of Burkina Faso have provided 500 young men and women with vocational training across eight different training centres. This intervention initially targeted 400 high-potential youth but the project team was able to bring on an additional 100 participants to receive the vital skills and training needed to enter the workforce.
As soon as the intervention was funded, partnership facilitators, church staff and stakeholders met for initial meetings to develop the program, create participant selection criteria and outline intervention milestones. After participants were selected, contracts with eight local vocational training centres were signed. Based on their interests and vocational school they attended, participants received three months of vocational training in high-demand topics including agriculture, tiling, hairdressing, decorating, electricity, building, solar energy, animal breeding, air conditioning, computer maintenance, masonry, mechanics, carpentry, pastry baking, photography and filming, plumbing, mobile phone repair, restoration and welding. Programs included hands-on training so participants could gain valuable experience and hone their skills.
The implementing committee developed a strong partnership with the participating vocational training centres, which resulted in the reduction of training fees. It was this excellent relationship developed by dedicated staff that allowed 100 additional participants to join the intervention. In September 2022, a total of 500 young men and women were trained and attended their graduation ceremony, receiving their certificate of qualification in their disciplines at the end of training sessions. Thanks to local mobilized resources and the funds saved from the reduced training fees, the team also gifted the 100 most qualified and in-need participants with start-up kits containing resources and materials to enable them to start their own small businesses.
Activities
Monitoring: Members of the intervention committee visited vocational training centres to monitor registered youths’ progress and participation.
Training: Young men and women participated in one of 20 different vocational skills training programs, such as sewing, electrical, masonry animal breeding and pastry baking. Students enjoyed gaining hands-on experience so they could practise their skills.
Graduation: All 500 participants graduated at the end of the training period and received certificates in their area of study. The ceremony was also attended by local authorities.
New businesses: Of the graduates, 100 selected young men and women received resources to help them launch their own small businesses. One participant received an oven to start her own pastry business.
Your Gift Provides...
Your support covered the costs for 500 youths in Burkina Faso to attend a vocational training program of their choice:
· 3-month vocational training program at one of eight different training centres in the following areas: agriculture, floor tiling, hairdressing, electrical, sewing, event decorating, solar energy, cooling and air conditioning, computer science, masonry, carpentry, joinery, photography and videography, telephone repair, welding, ceiling installations, restaurant services and pastry making, auto mechanics and animal breeding
· Training materials
· Food for trainees
· Transportation
· Housing
· Closing ceremony
· Administrative fees
· Reporting
ReportA message from a pastor
This intervention provided the trainees with important vocational skills and they are now able to work on their own or have found salary employment. This means a lot for them because they were living in poverty and could not access vocational training because the cost was unaffordable. They are now equipped to become economically independent.
The participating church partners were empowered with resources that helped respond to the need of the youth in their communities. Thanks to this intervention, frontline church partners are helping create employment opportunities for youth by giving them access to vocational training centres in disciplines where the workforce is in high demand. Thanks to this intervention, more youth in the community will be able to escape unemployment.
This intervention was a great learning opportunity for me. I am the management committee secretary and oftentimes, I was required to conduct monitoring visits to the vocational schools, write official letters to the local government and write meeting minutes. This helped me improve my own management skills. Additionally, I was very concerned with the future of those adolescents I am serving, as they are nearing the age to graduate from the Compassion development centre. Given their poor school performance, I was always worried about them. But this intervention helped me regain hope and also understand that every child is special and has something to show if they are put in the right place.
I also learned that anybody can thrive, provided that they are given the right support at the right time. This has opened new doors for the Compassion centres as we were able to meet various professionals and training school leaders with the intent to train more adolescents in the future.
I would like to thank you on behalf of all the benefiting church partners. We want you to know that their investment will contribute to the transformation of the lives of many adolescents. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless you.
ReportA message from those your gift helped
My name is Haoua and I live with my father and stepmother. I have long wanted to be trained in hairdressing because I have an ambition to be a hairstylist. But because my family lives in poverty and the high cost of vocational training, this seemed impossible to me and hindered my development.
This project gave me the chance to learn about my passion—hairdressing. The training enabled me to acquire new skills and abilities. Thanks to the three months of training, I am now able to use my skills to work and make money to meet my needs. All this helped me feel more confident about my future, knowing that with the vocational skills I received, I am spared from unemployment.
This change means a lot to me and my family. With the skills I now have, I have the guarantee that I shall not suffer from unemployment like many youths in our community. Working as a hairstylist can generate enough revenue that will help me become self-sustaining and be able to support my family. This project supported me with the materials I needed to practise and this has been a great opportunity to help me start my own business. I nurture the ambition of creating my own business one day and creating employment for other youth. The equipment received will help me fulfill my dreams.
Through this intervention, I learned that vocational skills are very important, and every youth should learn at least one skill. Unemployment among youth could be drastically reduced if such opportunities are given to other youth like me in the Compassion program.
I am grateful for all those who contributed to this intervention. I pray that God will bless them all because they helped fight against unemployment that threatens the youth in our community by funding this project.
ReportThank you for your generosity
Our church partners in Burkina Faso have already reported the profound impact this intervention has had on the lives of participating young men and women. Thanks to your generous gift, 500 youths from Burkina Faso have received crucial vocational training in their selected area of study. Your generosity has equipped them with the hands-on experience and business skills needed to find meaningful employment.
To help maximize their marketable skills, training was split into two categories: 75 per cent of the training was practical and 25 per cent was theoretical. Combining practical and theoretical training has allowed participants to get the most out of this short-term training program and turn that into long-term success in the workforce. The team has also reported that many participants have found employment and are working jobs that they enjoy. For example, Haoua Toure dreamed of becoming a hairstylist and now she is excelling as a stylist at a local hair salon.
This intervention has empowered local church partners to play an important role in their communities. Our local church partners are now seen as contributing to the real needs of youth and view them as contributing to job creation in their communities. Local Compassion centres also report that youth are now more interested in centre programming and attending church, where they can hear the gospel message of Jesus.
Of the 100 participants who were selected to receive a small business kit upon graduation, 65 have already started generating enough income to meet their needs. Rachid is one of those participants—after being trained in poultry farming, he is now running his own small business. After three months, he has already been able to save US$330.
Your generous gift has allowed Rachid, Haoua and hundreds of other young men and women to enter the workforce and see a future full of hope, stability and possibilities. Thank you for your generosity in providing vital vocational training to young people in need in Burkina Faso. Now, these youth are equipped to earn a living and become self-sufficient as they continue in their journey to becoming all God made them to be!