Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 2006)

Article 1(1)–(4) of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of education and training policies. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP2) was revised in response to the crisis that the country has been experiencing since 2013. The Government has developed a National Plan for Recovery and Peacebuilding in the Central African Republic (RCPCA) 2017–21 to replace the PRSP2. The RCPCA retains a number of the objectives set out in the PRSP2. The Government reports that the RCPCA is made up of three pillars. The first pillar seeks to restore peace and security and achieve reconciliation, while the second pillar aims to renew the social contract between the State and the population, by strengthening its presence and developing its capacity to provide basic social services such as education, health care, water and sanitation. In this regard, the Committee notes that poverty is endemic in the country and the majority of the population does not have access to basic services. The third pillar aims to promote economic revival and stimulate the productive sectors in order to quickly provide the public with employment activities and opportunities in these sectors. This pillar also provides for a national system to align training with the labour market. Taking into account the fact that the crisis in the country has considerably exacerbated problems in the education sector, the RCPCA provides for more technical and professional training (ETFP). The Government indicates that the steps taken to encourage and assist the population to develop and apply their professional skills are set out in the 2016 National Employment and Vocational Training Policy Framework Document (PNEFP), developed with the assistance of the International Labour Office. Targets 1 and 2 of the PNEFP operational action plan place special emphasis on the promotion of human resources and employment in order to reduce economic and social vulnerability and facilitate sustainable socio-economic integration. The Government reports that it focuses particularly on the development of sectoral policies in accordance with the needs expressed in different sectors offering employment, such as the public, semi public, informal, agricultural, mining, forestry, infrastructure and industrial sectors. The Government also indicates that the European Union and the Bêkou Trust Fund signed an indicative cooperation programme with the Central African Republic in July 2017, the priorities of which revolve around education, vocational and technical training and support for groups of manufacturers and artisans. While acknowledging the complexity of the situation on the ground, the Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report more detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by age and sex, on the impact of the measures implemented in the context of the aforementioned programmes with regard to education and training, including apprenticeships. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information on the functioning and impact of the national system to align training with the labour market set out in the RCPCA. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the specific actions implemented within the framework of the PNEFP operational action plan to assist individuals belonging to vulnerable groups, such as young persons and persons with disabilities. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate how a close link is ensured between, on the one hand, the Central African Agency for Vocational Training and Employment (ACFPE) training programmes and the measures taken as part of the RCPCA and, on the other hand, employment and employment services.

Article 2. Vocational education and training systems. The Government indicates that improving the employability of the workforce is one of its priorities as there is a discrepancy between the supply of and demand for employment as a result of insufficient experience and professional skills. The PNEFP and its operational action plan are therefore focusing on aligning training with employment through thorough planning of available training and earmarking of resources for the funding of targeted training. Technical training with the potential to support industrial, mining and rural development is therefore included in the operational action plan. The Government adds that, with a view to increasing and improving the quality and diversity of the training on offer, the PNEFP plans, inter alia, to diversify the training methods and courses; reduce imbalances in accessibility (in terms of geography, gender and specific groups) through reform initiatives, rationalization and restructuring; improve the quality of training by modernizing infrastructure and teaching materials, increasing the qualifications of teachers in skills development centres and improving their ability to respond immediately to labour market cues by making rapid changes to the scope and content of the training. The Government reports that it is in the process of adopting a national strategy to restructure the vocational training system that is geared to the needs of the labour market, with the support of the French Development Agency, and it will provide the Committee with information on the progress made. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the impact of the aforementioned measures on the development of open, flexible and complementary systems of general, technical and vocational education, educational and vocational guidance and vocational training. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any developments regarding the national strategy to restructure the vocational training system and to provide a copy when it is adopted.

Article 3. Information for vocational guidance purposes. The Government indicates that the PNEFP takes into account the need to provide information regarding vocational guidance to the public, particularly to vulnerable persons. The Committee requests the Government to send a copy of the PNEFP and to provide detailed information on the specific programmes and activities included in that document with a view to ensuring the provision of comprehensive information and the most extensive guidance possible, including through programmes suitable for persons with disabilities. The Committee also requests the Government to describe the type of information available for the purposes of professional guidance and how this information is updated and to provide examples of the available documentation.

Article 4. Lifelong training. The Government indicates that the PNEFP aims to align training and employment; improve the productivity and competitiveness of businesses and services; improve the skills of workers and productive sectors; meet labour market requirements for a qualified workforce; facilitate the integration into employment of workers in rural and urban areas; ensure lifelong training for the community; and consolidate and develop vocational training through apprenticeships. The Government adds that, as part of the implementation of the PNEFP, on 2 March 2018 the ACFPE launched a skills based apprenticeship programme with block release, supported by the French Development Agency. The Government reports that the pilot project includes training for 300 young people in the Bangui region and the surrounding areas in ten trades in which there is a demand for workers. This project will be extended throughout the national territory. With regard to human resource development, the Government indicates that, in February 2018, it launched a peacebuilding and decent work programme with the ILO. The Government adds that the implementation of this programme will reduce the deficit of technical and professional skills. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the results of the peacebuilding and decent work programme launched with the ILO. Furthermore, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to extend vocational training systems to cover fields of economic activity not previously within their scope, such as the informal economy, and to ensure that they are adapted to the changing needs of individuals throughout their working life, and also to those of the different branches of economic activity, in accordance with this provision of the Convention and the guidelines contained in the Human Resources Development Recommendation, 2004 (No. 195).

Article 5. Cooperation of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Government indicates that cooperation with the social partners takes place at different levels. Thus, the social partners are effectively involved in the development of policies, programmes and projects in the areas of work, employment and social protection, and in the project of the PNEFP operational action plan. In this context, the strengthening of the capacities of the social partners was provided for in the Decent Work Country Programme (PPTD-RCA), which was officially signed on 1 February 2018. The Government adds that, in the context of restructuring technical education and vocational training, a public–private partnership is envisaged in collaboration with the French Development Agency. The Government specifies that this partnership will involve the effective engagement of the social partners. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide more detailed information regarding the formal procedures or consultative mechanisms established to facilitate the cooperation of employers’ and workers’ organizations and, as appropriate, other interested bodies concerned with the formulation and implementation of vocational guidance and training policies and programmes.

Application in practice of the Convention. The Government indicates that it will request the financial and technical assistance of the ILO to conduct surveys and collect data on the application of the Convention. Taking into account the Government’s stated intention to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard, the Committee hopes that this assistance can be provided in the near future. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to communicate extracts of reports, studies or surveys, statistical data, etc., regarding ongoing vocational guidance and training programmes.