Training center, Lomé

Togo is one of the poorest countries in the world. On the current United Nations Development Index (HDI), it ranks 167 out of 189 countries. Although the economy suffers from a skills shortage, young people in Togo find it difficult to find training or jobs and one third of young people are not employed. This results from the country’s deficient, extremely unequal and dilapidated vocational training system. There is a lack of infrastructure, equipment and qualified teaching staff. In addition, the content in the few vocational schools is often not adapted to the needs of the country’s own economy. Thus, young people have hardly any opportunity to generate income and escape poverty. But since young people make up a large part of the population, they are the ones who need special support and encouragement so that they can have a future life and career prospects in their own country.

In the project near Lomé, the capital of Togo, an international education and training centre is to be built and equipped with modern learning materials to give socially disadvantaged young people access to modern vocational training. With education as a foundation, the young people will get a better chance of positive career prospects, which will enable them to escape poverty and unemployment in the long run.

Following the successful pilot project “Providing prospects through bilingual education“, the construction of the modern training center will enable us to continue our important work in Togo and improve the situation in the long term.

The project is aimed at destitute high school graduates between the ages of 17 and 25. Around 100 trainees are expected to attend the centre every year, and by 2030 around 600 trainees will be offere a training place.

The main objective of the project is to build and equip an international education and training centre. After completion of the construction phase, around 100 trainees will receive practical training in a teaching and administration building and in three workshops. The focus of the courses will be on manual and agricultural trades, e.g. mechanics, organic farming and food processing. The project will give socially disadvantaged young people access to high-quality and modern vocational training. This will improve their job opportunities and enable them to lift themselves out of poverty and unemployment in the long term. Since access to quality education in Togo is associated with high costs, many of the school leavers cannot afford to study or train after school. Unfortunately, this often means that either the parents have to go into debt to give their children access to a good education in Togo or even abroad, or that the school leavers remain unemployed. By teaching practical skills and vocational training, the participants of the new training centre can independently develop their own business ideas or find employment on the labour market. Other positive effects are the empowerment of young people by strengthening their intrinsic motivation and self-confidence, better integration into society, the avoidance of family debt due to the high costs of university studies, and the direct placement of young professionals in Togolese companies.

With your donation, you support us in building and equipping the training centre and thus give disadvantaged young people in Togo a perspective for the future.