Cameroon is trying to skip a very crucial stage in a nations course to development. The development of vocational training institutions has been sidelined. It is not getting the kind of attention it ought to be getting.
I’m not advocating for vocational training because mainstream education has failed us. No I’m not. Trace the history of industrialisation for countries like Japan , Germany , Austria , China , Vietnam. All these countries built their industrial sectors on the skills of vocational trained people.
Vietnam is currently pouring billions into vocational training to upgrade the quality of skills and increase productivity because there has been a spike in demand for skilled labour especially in the tech related skills due to the migration of some prominent manufacturing plants to Vietnam.
Another reason for this demand is due to increasing costs of labour in China due to a growing middle class and Vietnam has become the new paradise for these tech multinationals.
Vietnam has a population of about 94 million , gradually inching to 100 million that’s a lot of labour and they are seriously leveraging on it.
Any country thinking they can build a solid industrial base without developing the relevant skills need a serious rethink of their development strategy.
Picture credit : Vocational training schools in Vietnam.
ATAUBO MBAKWA ANJOANEI.