CIBITOKE April 4th (ABP) – A four-day regional training workshop, in entrepreneurship, organized by the ministry in charge of youth, through the Burundian Agency for Youth Employment (ABEJ), is taking place in the headquarters of Cibitoke province (north-west of Burundi), from March 29 to April 1, 2022.
The purpose of that training of young graduates, in the provinces of Cibitoke, Bubanza, Bujumbura City Council, is to teach them techniques for identifying opportunities around them, to create their businesses, according to the trainer, Mr. Jean-Pierre Ndayishimiye.
Thus, the ABEJ through that training, wants them to become the engine of job creation in Burundi, he said.
For the director of the ABEJ, Mr. Vital Niyungeko, the government cannot hire all the graduates, but will spare no effort to encourage them to consider creating jobs after such training. That ABEJ official said that since its creation by the government in 2012, 5,000 young people have already been trained in many services in the country, for first job internships.
On that, a study on the impact of those internships showed that among them, 30% are already engaged in the Public Service while 52% have created companies or have been hired in the private sector, he said.
In addition to those internships, the government also grants these young people travel expenses estimated at 360,000 BIF per young person, and some get small capital to put together to start their small projects.
However, some challenges are observed for the ABEJ. Those are the increase each year in the number of young people seeking employment, the lack of work experience and the means to affect them all, he said.
The director of ABEJ encourages young people to dare to undertake, and let them know that you can become a great entrepreneur from a small job, stressing that entrepreneurship is a long process.
As for the participants, they really appreciated the training which comes to arm them with techniques and business opportunities in the Burundian context. They thanked the government for its efforts towards them, but plead to extend such training to other young people who need it so much.