Senegal - Youth Training and Professional Artisans

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This article was published in the May 2007 issue of Resonances, a citizens’ information monthly drawn up by young activists .

Traditionally in Senegal, master artisans teach their trade to young apprentices, for whom this training is often their only education. This can become extraordinarily long and complicated for teenagers and young adults who, having had little or no education, do not know how to read or write, and do not know math. It thus falls on the artisan to teach not only his craft, but also to give the apprentice basic instruction. This can begin by things as basic and important as an understanding of meters, centimeters, and millimeters. Kora-PRD [1] has thus launched training programs for artisans and apprentices, offering evening courses in literacy, math, management, accounting, and design. This training takes place in Dakar and its suburbs, and in Thiès. They are managed by Kora, but are taught jointly with partner organizations of craftsmen, such as the Thiès Woodworkers’ Association, or the Guinaw Rail Association of Artisans and Entrepreneurs, in the inner suburbs of the capital. However, Kora wants to go further, even if they hope that the government will someday assume the role of providing training.

Structure Training, Adapt it to Work Standards

In order to solve the first problems encountered after setting up the training classes, notably in terms of content and rigor of the curriculum, a meeting was organized in February and March 2007 to establish measurements for proficiency in five core areas: woodworking, metalworking, masonry, hairdressing, and sewing. The organization used the DACUM [2] method, an international method that ranks the skills necessary for a specific occupation. With these standards, Mahktar Anta Diop, director of Kora, hopes on the one hand “to create a professional training program that conforms to the requirements of the job market for apprentices in each area,” and on the other hand “to allow identifying the trainings the master artisans, called ‘bosses,’ need for their apprentices.” The standards should also provide for a skill evaluation, to determine whether or not an apprentice has the knowledge necessary to become an artisan.

The Woodworking Sector, a Pioneer in Structuring Craft Workers

The process of making training professional is part of Kora’s over-arching desire to organize the woodworking sector. It is in this light that ONP-Bois (National Organization of Wood Professionals) was created in 2005. Founded by professional organizations from across Senegal, the aim is to organize the sector and to defend the interests of the artisans. The goal is also to give artisans a better access to new markets, with a high added value, both in Senegal and abroad. Within the country, Kora works in collaboration with ONP-Bois and APDA [3] toward building a central purchasing agency for the woodworkers of Dakar, which would permit the consolidation of supply and demand at the national level. Regarding cooperation with other countries, a Czech delegation recently met with ONP-Bois, in order to commercialize up to 30% of the production of Senegalese artisans in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech company involved also sold 12 woodworking machines, which will be installed in a warehouse contributed by the city council, in order to support training.

Thus, it comes full circle: training helps to consolidate the wood sector, and distribution of wood products strengthens training, which goes up in quality.

Also read: Resonances Africa N°14 - May 2007

[1] Kora-PRD is a partner of Frères des Hommes : lakoradakar@sentoo.sn > Contact: Makhtar Anta Diop

[2] “Developing A CUrriculuM”

[3] APDA, Agence pour la Promotion et le Développement de l’Artisanat au Sénégal (Agency for Promotion and Development of Woodworking in Senegal), http://www.apdasn.org

Update: Monday 7 May 2007

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