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Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (RATIFICATION: 1967)

Other comments on C117

Observation

Direct Request

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Parts I and II of the Convention. Improvement of standards of living. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in June 2013 which refers to the Government’s programme for 2012–16. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that the programme has taken into account its concerns regarding Parts I and II of the Convention. The objectives of the programme include improving the social environment and circumstances of the population (objective 4) and enhancing its human and educational capital (objective 5). The Government also indicates that the programme has been brought into line with its Strategy Document on Economic Growth and Reduction of Second-Generation Poverty (DSCRP 2) for 2011–15 and with the Modernity Revolution Programme. The Committee notes that the overall goal of the DSCRP 2 for 2015 is to bring about a significant improvement in the living conditions of the Congolese people, with a focus on vulnerable groups, such as women and children. The improvement is expected to lead to an average annual economic growth rate of 7.2 per cent, a reduction of about 11 points in the incidence of poverty to 60 per cent and the creation of almost 1,000,000 decent jobs a year in the hope of creating an AIDS-free generation, while at the same time respecting the environment and maintaining inflation at an annual average rate of 9 per cent. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the impact that the Strategy Document on Economic Growth and Reduction of Second-Generation Poverty (DSCRP 2) for 2011–15 and other sectoral plans and programmes have had on improving standards of living and reducing poverty (Article 2 of the Convention).

Part VI. Education and vocational training. The Government refers to the revitalization of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Technical and Vocational Training and the reinforcement of the National Vocational Preparation Institute (IMPP). The Committee notes that the Priority Action Programme (PAP) and the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (CDMT) find that vocational training is greatly hampered by the lack of professionalism of the education system and the fact that training is not adapted to the employment opportunities that are available, by the multiplicity of public and private training centres whose curricula do not take labour market priorities into account and therefore do not facilitate access to new jobs, to jobs that are available or to entrepreneurship and self-employment, and by the difficulty young people and women have in accessing credit and the insufficient number of microfinance institutions. The DSCRP 2 also indicates that a series of priority measures are to be taken to improve the employability of the target population and to develop vocational training, such as: (i) a mechanism for matching the supply of skills with the demand; (ii) assistance for workers and enterprises to adapt to changing times and improve their competitiveness; (iii) a system for acquiring and maintaining skills so as to meet the future needs of the labour market; and (iv) the development of “renewed” apprenticeship training networks. The Committee invites the Government to include up-to-date information in its next report on the impact of the measures taken, particularly through the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Technical and Vocational Training and the IMPP, to overcome the difficulties encountered and to develop progressively a system of education, vocational training and apprenticeship and prepare children and young people for a useful occupation, as prescribed in Article 15 of the Convention.