20.1. Introduction

With a continent in complete transformation, Africa has made considerable progress in terms of enrolment in primary and lower secondary classes. Nevertheless, “nearly 50 million children remain out of school and most of those who attend school do not acquire the basic skills needed to succeed in life”. According to a World Bank report (2018), Africa is facing a “serious learning crisis” that is undermining its economic growth and affecting the well-being of its population. Moreover, a study by the International Institute for Educational Planning (2016) shows that it is necessary “to ensure access for all to quality education on an equal footing and to promote lifelong learning opportunities”. But teacher shortages are a major barrier to the acquisition of the basic knowledge and “social” skills that students are expected to acquire in school, the same skills that will guide them throughout their lives.

It is obvious, without plagiarizing Bourdieu, that the environment plays a predominant role in the predestination of individuals and, in Africa, this is all the more true since there are only few alternative solutions, apart from denominational schools that do not always have as their goal the development of appropriate behaviors and postures in the business world.

With about 1,650 institutions that are too often in difficulty, higher education is also in a complicated situation. Too often, without government intervention, private initiatives or initiatives from non-governmental organizations, the situation would be even more dramatic. Indeed, “access to higher education for the age group concerned remains at 5%, the lowest regional average in the world, with only one-fifth of the global average of 25%” (Chuks Mba 2017). The major problem facing many countries is a skills production model that no longer responds to new economic and societal contexts, and even less to the labor market. As a result, there are many unemployed graduates, while there is a growing demand for skilled labor. The causes are multiple: a heavy colonial heritage that has always emphasized diplomas rather than skills (even if in the last decade there has been a reversal of the trend in Western universities), low salaries and obsolete equipment, where it exists. Finally, a cruel lack of relations between training institutions and economic actors is a significant stumbling block. Although initiatives such as Africa Centers of Excellence or the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering & Technology are emerging, the connections are still weak.

20.2. DGC Congo, first experience of apprenticeship through schoolenterprise work experience

In 2003, when we decided to launch the project of a “work-linked training business school“ in Pointe-Noire, Congo, the encouragement from local economic actors was more than timid. So, how did this idea come to us? It was at a school in Seine-Saint-Denis that we observed the arrival of young Africans who had come to France to study, while their respective countries had quite suitable educational institutions. Apart from the myth of the former colonial power, what was it that drove parents to bring their children to France to study? Health conditions? Maybe, but not only. Was it living conditions? Not even; students who were able to pay tuition fees in Europe were living in more than comfortable environments. It was therefore another element that caused the “school exodus”, the same one that once emptied our countryside: the absence of work.

The adventure – which began almost 17 years ago, with fewer than 45 students, on the basis of a minimalist business plan developed on Excel under the courtyard of the Hôtel Azur – has continued on its way. Today, and despite fluctuations in oil prices and the instability that some countries in the sub-region may experience, more than 450 students are alternating between school and business, with a hiring rate at the end of the bachelor’s degree program of nearly 93%¹ and a network of more than 300 companies working with DGC Congo. The initial gamble has been won, as only 7% of students entering their first year of bachelor’s degree wish to continue abroad (at the beginning, it was more than 80%); the others are hired or become “recruiters” because they have created their own structure. But to benefit from a certain credibility with recruiters, it would have been necessary for us to have partnerships and/or a double diploma with renowned European institutions. This remains an undeniable asset because the European magic is still working. Another point that is now unavoidable in Congo is the approval by The Ministry of Education to issue state diplomas, which two institutions in Pointe-Noire and Kinshasa obtained five years ago. A great recognition for the youngsters and all the companies who have placed their trust in us, and who are therefore assured of the high-quality of our educational programs and the pragmatism brought to them.

Today, business leaders have completely changed their vision, since they are looking to recruit young people just when they are finishing their studies. This also raises real concerns as students strive to complete their courses, since the “melodious siren songs” of very attractive salaries can encourage future graduates to abandon their academic careers to rejoin a company. This is why the educational teams remain vigilant, with individualized follow-up and regular visits to the host companies in order to detect early signs of a possible departure. “The problem is that without a validated diploma, employability is compromised,” says Pierre Dinassa-Kilendo, Director General of DGC Congo.

20.3. Apprenticeships and competitiveness: the example of the DRC

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country of paradoxes, education is the key lever for any long-term development policy. At a time when more than 90,000 young Congolese² enter the labor market each year, private wealth creators cannot prosper without an influx of trained and professional talent. In what way does an apprenticeship, through school/business rotation in Kinshasa, benefit the competitiveness of the Congolese economy?

Developing countries, such as the DRC, are suffering from a terrible brain drain. Endemic poverty, structural unemployment (80% of young people are unemployed according to Mulanga (2017)), problematic security or poor access to health care often lead to a damaging loss of hope for the majority of young people of working age, even though 65% of the population is under 25 years old (Bwirhonde 2015). As a result, expatriation often seems to be the most promising solution, even for those who have not yet entered the labor market. This is followed by the consequences that we know: difficulty for companies sourcing talent, followed by an overall decline in the average level of employee skills, which ultimately penalizes their competitiveness in an increasingly globalized market. As a result, valuable growth points are disappearing!

Faced with this situation, Yvette Ikolo, the then HR Director of large groups (brewing and telephone companies), decided to continue the adventure from Pointe-Noire to Kinshasa. Subsequently, with Dr. Richard Delaye, she reiterated the implementation of apprenticeship by following the school/company work-study scheme, within the curricula of the École supérieure de management de Kinshasa (ESMK), a school that has become an indisputable reference point in the DRC (Boisselet 2018). This approach provided a unique opportunity for young Congolese to work with executives from their country. Thanks to immersion in a company, a world that would otherwise be inaccessible to them, they realize that, despite everything, it is still possible to pursue successful professional careers in their country. The fact that they have experienced it, even for a few months, makes them understand that working “at home” and thriving in their work is a real possibility! The change of mind then occurs: many people no longer even think about going abroad, or at least they understand the importance of returning to it after their Master’s studies. The young talents and future managers of Kinshasa choose to settle in the country with their eyes wide open.

So, skills and talents remain (or return) to the DRC. Companies then take full advantage of this growing pool of well-trained young people, endowed, through their experience of academic internships, with the necessary know-how and interpersonal skills, as well as their corporate culture. Their recruitment is greatly facilitated, as recruiters are familiar with these graduates who were successfully trained only a few months earlier. “There is unique wealth in people”: the competitiveness of companies, which rely on teams of executives who then quickly improve, and thus, allows the national economy to take off. For Yvette Ikolo, Executive Director of the ESMK, “it is certainly a long-term and slow process, but it is undeniably a hopeful one for young people, for companies and simply for the country”. But for Dr. Richard Delaye, one challenge remains to be met, and that is the challenge of “repats” – Africans returning to work on the continent thanks to the new opportunities offered to them in the Land of Ebony, the land of their ancestors. “If some come back, it must be interesting to stay…”