Strengthening youth employment to combat child labour

GRAND ZATTRY & MBATTO, Côte d’Ivoire (ILO News) – From 19 to 23 May 2025, the ACCEL Africa project organized training-of-trainers sessions in Grand Zattry and Mbatto as part of its strategy to accelerate the elimination of child labour in Côte d’Ivoire.

The project targets the cocoa and gold supply chains, addressing the root causes of child labour, particularly the lack of economic opportunities for young people.

The training brought together 563 participants, including 45 women. Among them were trainers from the Institut Pédagogique National de l’Enseignement Technique et Professionnel (IPNETP), guidance inspectors from the Technical Education, Vocational Training and Apprenticeship (ETFPA) system, vocational training centres, apprenticeship mentors, and representatives from partner institutions such as the Agence Nationale d’Appui au Développement Rural (ANADER), the Conseil du Café-Cacao (CCC), the Système d’Observation et de Suivi du Travail des Enfants en Côte d’Ivoire (SOSTECI), and local social centres.

Participants were trained across six modules covering topics such as welcoming and mentoring apprentices, use of pedagogical tools, dual training systems, and the integration of gender considerations and prevention of gender-based violence in the workplace.

The training aimed to:

• Improve the pedagogical skills of trainers and apprenticeship mentors;
• Support youth guidance in the poultry, cassava cultivation, and cassava processing sectors;
• Finalize the selection of youth beneficiaries following medical check-ups and orientation interviews.

A total of 79 young apprentices were selected with support from cocoa cooperatives and the CCC, based on children of producers. The final list of selected youth was validated at the end of the sessions, following a medical check-up and orientation interview. These future apprentices will now have access to hands-on training in their communities, directly aligned with local economic needs.

Following the training of trainers and apprenticeship mentors, the ACCEL Africa project will officially launch the youth training and apprenticeship programme in M’Batto and Grand-Zattry in July 2025. This launch will take place in the context of the World Day Against Child Labour, celebrated annually on 12 June. It will mark the official start of training sessions in poultry farming, cassava production and processing, and cocoa by-products.

Two official ceremonies are planned to inform local and national stakeholders, present the validated training curricula, and promote both collaborative actions and youth integration pathways, as well as additional income generation for cocoa-producing households.

These activities are part of the project’s ongoing efforts to combat child labour by creating sustainable economic opportunities.