A training centre for water professions will soon be opened in Cameroon. The project is being developed jointly by the Cameroonian Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MINEFOP) and the Cameroon Water Utilities Corporation (CAMWATER).
Cameroon is facing real difficulties related to water supply. In 2018, the average rate of access to water for the population was 77% in urban areas and 45% in rural areas, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS). This situation is partly linked to poor management of water infrastructure in this Central African country. Thus, the government through the Cameroonian Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MINEFOP) recently signed a partnership with the Cameroon Water Utilities Corporation (CAMWATER). According to the agreement, a training centre for water professions will soon be set up in Cameroon.
According to our colleagues in Cameroon Tribune, the future school will offer Cameroonians training related to water jobs in rural areas (fisheries warden, river warden, coast guard) and drinking water jobs (driller, technical agent for drinking water treatment, etc.). The centre will also equip learners in wastewater treatment techniques.
The launch of feasibility studies
According to the agreement signed on November 16th, 2020 in the economic capital Douala, MINEFOP will be responsible for mobilising resources for the construction and equipment of the future training centre for water professions. The institute will be located in Akomnyada, Nyong and So’o departments, in the Centre region. The ministry will also develop, in collaboration with the CAMWATER, training standards according to the competency-based approach, and will be partly responsible for the management of the training centre.
When will CAMWATER provide a site in Akomnyada, which will host the future training school? For the time being, the date for the start of construction work on the centre is not known, but the Cameroonian government has announced that a feasibility study will be carried out on the site. CAMWATER will also take part in the exchange platforms on training and socio-professional integration that will be organised by MINEFOP. According to Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the Cameroonian Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, the school will be able to train thousands of Cameroonians.
Inès Magoum
