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IDB, European Union to expand vocational training program in Haiti

5.5 million EU grant to improve services provided by private sector institutions and NGOs

The Inter-American Development Bank today announced a ? 5.5 million (approximately US$6.7 million) contribution from the European Union to expand an IDB-financed vocational training program in Haiti.

The EU grant, which will be administered by the IDB, will help improve the job training services provided by private sector and non-governmental organizations as well as to strengthen the Haitian Ministry of Education's National Professional Training Institute (INFP).

The INFP is currently carrying out a program to train around 30,000 young people using US$22 million in financing approved by the IDB last year. The first 5,000 students should be enrolled later this year, said IDB project team leader Emma Naslund-Hadley.

While the IDB financing targets public sector institutions, the EU resources will help upgrade the facilities, equipment, technologies and didactic material of private sector institutions and NGOs that provide job-training services in Haiti.

The program focuses on unemployed and underemployed youths between the ages of 15 and 24 who lack formal education, work experience and labor skills that can command better pay. To that end, training modules have been developed to teach students who are barely literate.

Participants, who will have stipends and accident insurance, will receive training in trades for which there is a verified demand. Once they have completed a minimum of 300 hours of instruction, youths will have opportunities for internships in businesses.

Special efforts will be made to recruit young women in trades where they are currently underrepresented, such as construction, carpentry, electricity, plumbing, automobile and general mechanics, air conditioning and refrigeration, metalwork and welding.

The demand for skilled workers stems in part from donor-supported programs in Haiti. The IDB's US$500 million portfolio of operations is financing projects involving the rehabilitation of roads, bridges, ports and airports; the construction of schools, health units, drinking water, sanitation and irrigation systems and investments in agriculture and local development.

Press Contact

Peter Bate

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