08.11.2024
Confronted with the growing challenges facing the forestry and timber sector in the Congo Basin, the ADEFAC project is working to strengthen the skills of professionals through innovative training and coaching.
Developing the skills of players in the forestry and timber industry is crucial to meeting market requirements and ensuring the sustainable management of forest resources in the countries of the Congo Basin. Since 2021, the ADEFAC project has been implementing training activities in Cameroon, Congo, Gabon and the DRC.
Andragogy and technical-educational coaching
Two hundred trainers from professional circles and training institutions have benefited from training in andragogy and the skills approach between 2021-2024 to equip them to develop continuing education modules. Nearly 100 trainers have already benefited from technical-pedagogical coaching to use these tools and develop modules based on the needs of the forestry-wood industry and their areas of expertise.
At the end of this year, the trainer coaching program will conclude with modules in the fields of carpentry, grading and cubing of logs and lumber, and maintenance of wood-processing machinery and rolling stock. The main aim is to enable participants to design continuing vocational training modules that are perfectly aligned with current market needs.
Autonomous roll-out of training modules
Following this coaching, autonomous training modules have been deployed since December 2022 by various training institutions: in Cameroon by ENEF Mbalmayo (“Negotiation of social clauses”, and “Forest mapping applied to georeferenced inventories”, Women Artcraft (company management, responsible business conduct, digitalization of wood processing activities), and Don Bosco Ebolowa (“Valorization of forestry and sawmill waste”), in Congo by Cluster BRAZZABOIS (“Artificial drying of artisanal sawn timber”), in Gabon by CSP (“Mechanical fundamentals”, and “Reading electrical diagrams & Troubleshooting”) and CFEP BOIS BTP & CIMFEP (“The 5S/KAIZEN method”) and in the DRC by ISEA de Tshéla (“Managing forest-land conflicts”). These modules are available and can be re-organized for companies and SMEs/Artisans according to their requests. They can also be adapted to specific needs.
Impact and outlook
The coaching and stand-alone modules deployed so far have already shown promising results. Trainers are better equipped to pass on their know-how, training institutions are taking ownership of the continuing education management approach, and companies are interested in what institutions can offer to ensure a better-trained, more efficient workforce.
The years 2024 and 2025 will therefore be rich in training opportunities for players in the forestry-wood industry. Some stand-alone training modules will also be evaluated through the quality label system, to test their effectiveness”. Thanks to these initiatives, the sector is equipping itself with the necessary means to adapt to contemporary challenges and move towards a sustainable and prosperous future.
This ADEFAC project, financed by the AFD, continues to be an essential pillar for the professional development of industry players and for the promotion of sustainable and innovative practices in the forest-wood sector.
