GITEGA December 6th (ABP) – The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, Mr. Frédéric Bangirinama calls the representatives of youth organizations, the representatives of the ministries involved in the supervision of young people, the heads of private sector companies and representatives of United Nations agencies that support initiatives for the promotion of young people to act in synergy to improve the prospects for education, training and youth employment.
He launched that appeal on Wednesday December 1 at the closing of the national consultation workshop on the vision and strategic axes for the generation without limit initiative in Burundi (Gen-U), held Tuesday and Wednesday for from the various partners in education and supervision of young people to initiatives aimed at sustainable development.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education has indicated that the Ministry in charge of Education will spare no effort to support the Generation Unlimited initiative so that its vision is realized as soon as possible.
The provisional vision of unlimited generation proposed by the participants in this workshop is thus released. generation without limit “.
The participants also exchanged and enriched the four strategic axes of Gen-U namely education, employment, entrepreneurship and agents of change.
These axes aim to find appropriate responses to overcome the challenges faced by young people in Burundi, in that case the difficulties of professional reintegration, especially for young graduates, most of whom spend a long period waiting for employment.
The theme presented by Désiré Manirakiza, coordinator of one of the youth organizations (PAEEJ), revealed that the situation of young people in Burundi is worrying. Because, he said, young people are in the numerical majority compared to the rest of the population and face enormous challenges of professional integration at the end of their studies.
Aware of that situation, a large number of young people would like to move towards self-employment. It is with this in mind that young people want to be leaders of change for sustainable development.
The workshop participants thus committed to act in partnership to achieve effective results for the challenges facing young people. However, they deplored a number of difficulties which are slowing down the positive development of this initiative, in particular the problems of young people ‘s access to internships and the professional experience factor put forward by many of the managers of private companies.
They therefore recommended strengthening the legal and institutional framework for professional internships to increase opportunities for young people for professional internships. They also recommended the initiation of incentives to companies that receive a large number of interns.
Mr. Bangirinama indicated that to face that challenge, the government encourages the promotion of trades and vocational training centers. It is within that very framework that the government intends to increase the number of vocational training centers and strengthen their equipment.
To achieve the expected results aimed at improving the prospects of young people in education, training, employment and entrepreneurship, the workshop participants formulated the following recommendations: ensure digital prioritization including development community tele-centers for polyvalent training to provide Internet access in Burundi; develop content in social entrepreneurship and transferable skills of the 21st century; combine efforts to strengthen the practical aspects of education in Burundi; develop professional retraining programs with a view to reducing unemployment among those with high qualifications; set up a program that centralizes information on internship opportunities offered by different ministries, the private sector and other partners.
He invited all the actors concerned by the unlimited generation initiative to make the necessary contributions for the implementation of the latter in our country.
The Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Burundi, Nathalie Meyer reiterated the will of UNICEF and its partners to support the joint efforts in the implementation of the Generation Without Limit initiative in Burundi.