Burundi has launched a vocational training partnership with Italy aimed at preparing young Burundians for certified jobs abroad, as the country grapples with persistent underemployment and mounting pressure on its labour market.
The initiative was agreed between the Embassy of Burundi in Rome and Auge University in the Italian capital, according to a letter sent last week by Burundi’s ambassador to Italy, Ernest Ndabashinze, to the foreign ministry in Bujumbura.
Under the programme, candidates will receive free online Italian language courses to meet proficiency requirements for vocational certification and employment in Italy.
“Proficiency in Italian is a prerequisite for access to certified training and employment in Italy,” the ambassador said in the letter.
Training will cover a range of technical and service professions, including vehicle maintenance, agricultural machinery operation, hospitality, elderly care, cooking, plumbing, construction and pastry-making.
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Participants who complete the preparatory phase will travel to Italy, where they will attend theoretical courses at the university while undertaking practical apprenticeships with partner companies.
The scheme is designed to combine classroom instruction with hands-on work experience, increasing the chances of long-term employment upon completion.
Officials say the programme responds to structural challenges in Burundi’s labour market, where formal job creation has lagged behind rapid population growth.
According to the African Development Bank, more than half of Burundi’s workforce was underemployed in 2024, reflecting widespread informal and low-productivity activity.
The World Bank estimates that around 150,000 young people enter the labour market each year in the small, landlocked country of roughly 13 million people.
Although the official unemployment rate among 15- to 24-year-olds stood at 1.62 percent in 2024, World Bank data suggest that figure masks a high prevalence of precarious and informal work.
About 14 percent of young people are classified as not in employment, education or training (NEET), underscoring limited access to stable opportunities at home.
In that context, migration for work has increasingly been viewed by some policymakers as a pragmatic avenue to ease domestic labour pressures and generate remittances.
Italy, which faces labour shortages in certain technical and care sectors due to demographic ageing, has in recent years expanded bilateral labour mobility arrangements with several countries.
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The new partnership forms part of Burundi’s broader push to strengthen vocational education and improve employability among young people.
Since 2021, the government has implemented the Youth Economic Empowerment and Employment Programme, aimed at boosting entrepreneurship, supporting small enterprises and expanding access to skills training.
Burundi has also invested in national technical training centres and sought support from international partners to upgrade curricula and certification systems.
Analysts say that while overseas employment schemes can provide relief for some job seekers, their long-term impact will depend on scale, safeguards and alignment with labour market needs in host countries.
For now, officials present the Italy partnership as a pilot model that could be replicated with other destinations if successful.
“With structured training and language preparation, young Burundians can access certified employment opportunities abroad,” the ambassador said, framing the initiative as a pathway to skills development and economic integration in an increasingly competitive global labour market.
