WorldSkills confirms Democratic Republic of Congo as 87th WorldSkills Member

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will become the latest Member of WorldSkills, bringing the total to 87 Members. The new Member will be known as Centre des resources Haut Katanga - WorldSkills DRCongo.

It has identified ten priority skill areas:

• Automotive Technology
• Hospitality
• Hairdressing
• Fashion Technology
• Tiling
• Bricklaying
• Web Development
• Welding
• Electrical Installation
• Joinery

Its application for membership follows a six-year partnership between WorldSkills Belgium, Enabel (the Belgian agency for technical cooperation), the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo (FEC), and the Ministry of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education (EPST). Other major partners include the Ministry of Training and Trades, the National Employment Organisation (ONEM), and the National Institute for Professional Preparation (INPP). This group of partners has been working together to share best practice and take part in capacity building and training courses.

During this time, WorldSkills DRCongo made a number of fact-finding visits to Belgium. In 2019, a small team attended the final of the Belgian national championship. In 2022 and 2023, a larger delegation went to WorldSkills Belgium’s national Startech’s Days, attending information sessions and visiting training centres. Ten DRC National Experts and one Competitor took part in the Belgian finals.

This knowledge sharing helped WorldSkills DRCongo to prepare for their first international competition, WorldSkills Africa 2022 Swakopmund, where its team won five medals in nine skills events. At the end of October, Experts and jury members from each of the ten priority skill areas also attended a training course with Belgian experts and the Team Leader in Mbujimayi. They assessed the best Competitors at the 6th national competition, who are now preparing for WorldSkills Africa 2025 Livingstone.

Later this year, after extensive training, an official delegation including ten Experts will take part in WorldSkills Lyon 2024 and be formally ratified as a Member at the WorldSkills General Assembly 2024. Other partners and dignitaries from DRC will join them to see the impact of WorldSkills for themselves and learn how to apply WorldSkills Occupational Standards to its own TVET system.

Christine Nepa Nepa Kabala, Official Delegate for WorldSkills DRCongo, is excited about the opportunities ahead and what it means for youth in her country. She says, “As a WorldSkills Member, we hope to unlock even more opportunities for economic and social development through skills. One in five of our citizens is aged 15 to 24. In 2021, we saw 871,000 students enrol in secondary vocational education, of which 35% were women. Our hope is that as an official Member we can attract even more young people to skilled professions, raise the standards of technical training, and demonstrate the value of TVET to policymakers, educators, and industries.”

Find out more about WorldSkills Members.