The program, which aims to promote vocational training and employability for young Africans in their home countries to address the root causes of migration, has now trained over 400 youths in Senegal, Mauritania, and Cabo Verde since its launch in the summer of 2024. The initiative has established itself as a strategic tool for creating future opportunities and fostering economic and social development in West Africa.
During the closing ceremony, held at the School of Technical and Industrial Vocational Training (EETFPI) in Nouakchott, Luis Padilla presented diplomas to the participants. The training, provided by the Labor Foundation of Construction of Las Palmas, was conducted with the collaboration of Mauritanian educational authorities. José Manuel Ojeda, vice-president of the foundation, also attended the event.
The second edition in Mauritania benefited 20 youths, with a training itinerary focused on masonry and building maintenance. Following a theoretical-practical phase and a period of internships in local companies, 17 out of the 19 participants who completed the training are now undertaking internships in the construction sector. In total, 60 youths have been trained in Mauritania over the last three courses.
As a new development, this edition included a 'training of trainers' component to enhance local pedagogical capacities and facilitate knowledge transfer between Canarias and Mauritania. Within this framework, a Mauritanian educator traveled to the islands to participate in training activities organized by the Labor Foundation of Construction, gaining insights into methodologies, equipment, and teaching systems applied to specialized technical training.
Prior to this, Luis Padilla reviewed the results of the rehabilitation of the École de l’Enseignement Technique de la Formation Professionnelle Industrielle de Nouakchott, a project funded by the Government of Canarias with €60,000 and executed by the Labor Foundation of Construction of Las Palmas. The initiative combined training and employment, creating theoretical classrooms, a construction practice space, new bathrooms, and a storage area for tools and materials. Fifteen youths previously trained in 'Tierra Firme' participated in this rehabilitation.
Padilla's agenda in Mauritania also included monitoring two other cooperation projects funded by the Government of Canarias: one managed by Cáritas Diocesana de Canarias for the socio-professional integration of vulnerable youth, and another promoted by the Foundation Alliance for Rights, Equality, and International Solidarity to strengthen the economic autonomy of women in the Dar Naïm district.
