• Burkina Faso launches $4.6 million vocational training project

• Switzerland, private sector fund youth, women employment initiative

• Programme targets skills mismatch amid 8.1% youth unemployment

Burkina Faso’s government signed an agreement on Tuesday to strengthen vocational training and employment for young people and women.

The agreement, announced in Ouagadougou on Feb. 17, establishes the Project to Strengthen Vocational Training and Workforce Integration for Youth and Women, known by its French acronym PREFIP-JF.

The partnership brings together the state, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the General Confederation of Enterprises of Burkina Faso (COGEF), with total funding of more than 2.6 billion CFA francs, or about $4.6 million.

Switzerland, acting through the SDC, is contributing more than 2.1 billion CFA francs to implement the project. COGEF has committed 530 million CFA francs in national funding, underscoring direct private-sector involvement in aligning training with labour market needs. The signatories said they aim to build a system better aligned with market demand and described PREFIP-JF as “a key tool to boost employability, economic inclusion and competitiveness.”

The programme builds on existing efforts to narrow the persistent mismatch between workers’ skills and business needs. The youth unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 was estimated at around 8.1% in 2024, according to the World Bank. The slight decline nonetheless remains a challenge for the economy.

Separately, the National Institute of Statistics and Demography said the working-age population accounted for more than 52% of the total population at the end of 2024, highlighting the country’s youthful population profile, which could become a driver of growth if employment prospects improve.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou