April 21, 2008

Charles Karake, Director of Human Resources & Institutional Capacity Development Agency (pictured left), attended the dinner on Sunday night with Bishop John.

A very outspoken and animated man, he reminded the otherwise enthusiastic audience of the incredibly high unemployment rates despite the increased need for labor. "There are 50 people on the back of everyone in this room." He went on to explain that he was excited when his two nephews became employed so that he could give them each 25. "But, even though I give them each 25, there are 50 more waiting to be carried on my back."

After the dinner, he asked if we could meet him at his office first thing Monday morning.

Charles, who reports directly to President Kagame, is charged with developing the plan for brining much needed vocational training to the country. He estimated that the immediate need would support 400 training centers. "If you see the tile on this floor, there are not enough people in Rwanda who know how to do that for us. We have to bring in the workers from Uganda or Kenya."

Charles needs to complete his report by August, and it was clear that he was feeling under pressure and lacking a comprehensive plan.

The team engaged with him for two hours brainstorming ideas, including ways the government could incent the private education sector to move into the market, the possibility of introducing a governmental requirement to pursue either college or vocational training after secondary school, incentives to direct students to necessary technical training, the need to partner with the banking industry to create student loan programs, and the need to prioritize the incredibly wide range of skill development needed in the country.

The GRDP Board Chair and CEO of closerlook, inc (http://www.closerlook.com/), Dave Ormesher, founded a non-profit organization several years that provides intensive "boot camp" vocational training for high school students who do not want or otherwise cannot attend college. Because of the success of "i.c.stars" (http://www.icstars.org/), graduates are preferred hires at many local businesses, and DePaul University promises automatic admission to anyone who successfully completes the program.

Because of their shared overlap in developing programs to address the gap between often under-skilled high school graduates and college attendees, Dave agreed to provide mentorship to Charles around the development of his vocational training plans. I plan to lend some insight into the workings of the education sector as well.

Readers with an interest or experience in developing vocational training programs are encouraged to contact me for ways to get involved in this at any level.