Benin: Cotonou hosts the 16th Conference of UEMOA Ministers on Employment and Training

La suite après la publicité

The Sofitel hotel in Cotonou is hosting on Friday, September 26, 2025, the proceedings of the 16th Conference of Ministers in charge of Employment and Vocational Training of the UEMOA area. Gathered around the theme “Digital transformation and youth employability: what levers for future skills and stability in the era of artificial intelligence?”, representatives of the Union’s eight countries will discuss the challenges and prospects related to youth amid economic and technological upheavals.

A strategic meeting

Hosting these sessions for the third time after 2013 and 2019, Benin has left its mark on the organization of this major meeting. The Minister of State, Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, representing Head of State Patrice Talon, set the tone: “By 2050, Africa will have more young people than the rest of the world. The challenge is huge: either we make it an opportunity, or we make it a threat.”

For the Beninese government, employment and training have become national priorities. The “Bénin 2060 Alafia” strategy highlighted by Cotonou illustrates this desire to embed public policies in a long-term vision focused on technical training, innovation and socio-professional integration.

A call for strengthened cooperation

The president of the consultation framework, Koffi N’Guessan, Ivorian Minister of Vocational Training, recalled the importance of a collective approach to unemployment and underemployment: “These challenges are not insurmountable, but they require coordinated responses from us and increased pooling of our resources.”

The same message came from Mamadu Jaquité, UEMOA Commissioner in charge of Human Development, who said digital transformation represents “a historic opportunity to reduce unemployment, if it is accompanied by inclusive and visionary policies.”

Already tangible results

During the meeting, several achievements of the Consultation Framework since its creation in 2010 were recalled: a permanent headquarters inaugurated in Bamako, the creation of national employment and training observatories in seven countries, and the development of a 2025–2029 Strategic Plan. Regional programs, supported by partners such as Switzerland, Canada and GIZ, have also helped harmonize curricula, modernize vocational training and introduce fields related to artificial intelligence.

Youth at the center of priorities

All speakers stressed the urgency of acting for youth, who make up nearly 60% of the UEMOA population. Unemployment, estimated at 11.6% in the first quarter of 2025 according to the BCEAO, remains a major concern.

“Our young people are not asking for the world. They are asking for a chance: a chance to master digital technology, to create African solutions to African challenges, to succeed here, at home,” summarized Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, calling to turn rhetoric into concrete results.

The expected conclusions should outline an ambitious regional roadmap centered on digitalization, professional mobility and digital equity. All these levers are intended to make digital transformation a driver of sovereignty and shared prosperity for the entire UEMOA area.