The teaching area for the Luban Workshop in Djibouti City, which is also the first Luban Workshop in Africa. [Photo by Cui Wei and Liu Xuemei/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The first Luban Workshop kicked off on Thursday in Djibouti City, capital of Djibouti, the nation in the Horn of Africa.
The workshop, located at Djibouti Industrial and Commercial School, was created by the China Civil Engineering Construction Group and will be academically supported by Tianjin First School of Commerce and Tianjin Railway Technical and Vocational College.
It is among the 10 Luban Workshops set to take place in Africa to provide vocational training to African youth under an initiative launched by China in collaboration with African countries during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
A grand ceremony is held to inaugurate the first Luban Workshop in Africa on March 28 in Djibouti City in Djibouti. [Photo by Cui Wei/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Yu Zhongwu, president of Tianjin Railway Technical and Vocational College, said the college will support the teaching work in railway operation and management and railway engineering, two new majors added to the Djibouti Industrial and Commercial Vocational School.
Tianjin First School of Commerce will help with the school's courses of international trade and logistics, said the college president Guo Wei.
Covering 1,000 square meters, the newly built teaching area has well-established facilities. The workshop also has an area at the Nagad Railway Station and the Djibouti Free Trade Area for student practical programs.
The workshop will offer diplomas to students and work closely with companies.
"Djibouti aims to become a regional shipping and commercial center in Africa by 2035 and our railway-related major will meet the demand for the country's targets," Yu said.
The teaching area for the Luban Workshop in Djibouti City, which is also the first Luban Workshop in Africa. [Photo by Liu Xuemei/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Besides the newly opened workshop, seven other Luban Workshops have taken place across the globe since 2016.
The workshops were initiated by leading vocational colleges and schools in Tianjin and a total of 10 workshops will be set up in Africa in two years, according to Lyu Jingquan, deputy head of the Tianjin Municipal Education Commission.
The projects are expected to support technological training for African youth and promote youth innovation and entrepreneurship.
The China Civil Engineering Construction Group built Djibouti's first modern railway, a network equipped with advanced electric technologies from China that has connected Ethiopia and Djibouti since it went into service in 2016.
After students complete their study at the school, they could better serve the railway operations and management, the company said.
Touted as a "Confucius Institute" in the industrial sector, the workshops still have some differences from the organization and training mechanisms associated with the institute.