Cameroon German track construction company sets the course for new skilled workers in Cameroon

Services, industry, agriculture – since 2021, Cameroon’s gross domestic product has grown by more than 3 per cent annually and shows an upward trend (Source). With the expansion of national and regional trade, the country requires energy-efficient options for the transportation of goods and people. The German track construction company Martin Rose GmbH & Co. KG is using the opportunity to tap into the railway market in Cameroon. However, to acquire contracts in the Central African country, it needs trained and qualified personnel.

As in many other African countries, Cameroon's 1,100-kilometre railway network was in poor condition. There are several reasons: besides inadequate investment in infrastructure, the country lacks qualified civil engineers and track construction experts. The only training institute for railway construction in Central Africa to date, IMEFAC (L’Institut De Formation Professionnelle Aux Métriers Ferriviaires En Afrique Centrale), had not kept pace with advancements in the the areas of teaching and technology and produced only around 80 graduates per year – not a conducive environment for track construction companies operating in Cameroon to maintain the railway network and to ensure that network expansion is technically sound.

Together with IMEFAC, Martin Rose GmbH & Co. KG is providing vocational training in track construction and improving job prospects for young adults in Douala, Yaoundé and Ngaoundéré. The German company also aims to attract new workers for the Cameroonian market and to strengthen the local railway industry.

In order to meet the business and development-related challenges, the project partners, with a budget of around EUR 648,000, carried out the following activities in Cameroon between December 2022 and June 2024:

• Training local trainers
• Developing learning materials and course modules on track measurement, welding processes and occupational safety for a new accredited training programme in line with international standards
• Identifying selection criteria for the training programme
• Equipping training centres with new and modern machinery

Martin Rose was responsible for developing course content, purchasing equipment for the training centres and conducting the training courses. DEG Impulse provided financial support for the project.
 

Thanks to the in-depth training of local trainers, new learning materials, and state-of-the-art training centres, the trainees acquire skills in track construction in line with current standards.  This includes, for example, measuring track height with sighting and levelling devices, recording track position using a track scale, rail replacement, ballast bonding and basic knowledge of welding processes and occupational safety. To attract as many job seekers as possible, in addition to the training programme, there are also further training courses for career changers who have already worked in track construction.

With new personnel trained to international standards, Cameroon’s railway network is becoming safer as regards possible derailments or accidents at level crossings, for example.  The country will also be able to expand freight transport from Douala to Ngaoundere in the future, which is fundamental to the planned merger of a railway network with Chad and the Central African Republic.

Thanks to the effective and modern training programme, Martin Rose GmbH & Co. KG can acquire qualified personnel and thus improve its prospects on the track construction market in Cameroon. The company plans to make this a permanent programme and to continue optimising it.

• Introduction of a training and professional development programme recognised by the Cameroon Ministry of Education and implemented by the IMEFAC vocational training institute.
• Training for 18 teachers to become trainers
• Training for 186 local skilled workers, including 38 women, in track construction