Africa-Press – Angola. Angola and the United States of America (USA) signed, on Tuesday, in Luanda, an agreement on professional training in the English language, called “English Works”, with the aim of training young people, with a view to their insertion in the job market.The partnership established with the National Institute of Employment and Professional Training (INEFOP) also includes the provision of fifty thousand dollars by the US Government.
The Secretary of State for Labor and Social Security, Pedro Filipe, highlighted that the program is an example of development that is intended to be imposed on the Angolan economy, considering that mastery of a second language is always a determining factor for insertion into the job market.
The US diplomatic mission is making professional training in Angola increasingly better with the necessary quality, which allows it to compete with other countries, acknowledged the minister, ensuring that after Benguela and Luanda the professional technical English program will also be extended to the 164 INEFOP centers in the country.
Skills
In turn, the director-general of INEFOP, Manuel Mbangui, said that the agreement is the result of a concern of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, about the need for professional training for young people, with the English language as one of the options for opening up to the job market.
The institution, he said, has the responsibility of materializing the guidelines and promoting skills that guarantee employment to citizens from that social fringe, highlighting that the “English Works” project is an initiative that had the support of the Association of English Language Teachers, aiming at dissemination in the National Professional Training System.
Manuel Mbangui explained that the objective is to guarantee technical training in the English language for young people who complete professional courses, allowing them to carry out their work activity with yet another tool for competitiveness in the market.
With this initiative, he said, INEFOP aims to expand interest in the English language and culture, as well as develop communication skills, teamwork and social activities.
In the first phase, the program is being developed simultaneously in the provinces of Luanda and Benguela, said the director-general of INEFOP, who also explained that before the start, training was provided to the institution’s trainers, four of whom were from the national system and six from the association, which included specialists from the US Embassy in Angola.
The training structure, he highlighted, will not only involve training activities in classrooms, but also sports activities and other cultural aspects to strengthen the culture of the language among participants.
One of the major challenges, according to Manuel Mbangui, within the expansion strategy to promote entrepreneurship, is that young people who complete the cycle can, within a period of three months, benefit from training with trainers and create English language learning centers in their neighborhoods.
In addition to the 50 young people who freely joined the project, INEFOP had to approach some institutions, essentially workers in hotels and other structured sectors that use the English language a lot.
Joe Biden’s visit to Angola
On the occasion, the US ambassador to Angola, James Story, reaffirmed President Joe Biden’s visit to Angola in the coming days, with the aim of strengthening relations between the two countries.
The guarantee, he said, was given this Wednesday 12, during the morning, through a phone call received from the White House, in the USA, considering that Joe Biden’s visit will be historic, depending on the agreements that the two countries intend to establish.
The US Government, as it has highlighted, is committed to boosting the workforce in Angola and the partnership with INEFOP is one of the great examples of the commitment that the two States have made for the future.
James Story said that the training partnership also has an impact on the Lobito Corridor, and must benefit the young people who will work on the project, as it is a large-scale US investment.
English Works, he said, was created to support young people with techniques and skills that facilitate their insertion into the job market, taking into account that the English language is essential for international work.
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