Cameroon, CFHEC Launch Practical Training for 54 Engineers and Workers

Fifty-four Cameroonian engineering students and construction workers have begun a training program combining professional certification with practical experience on projects operated by China First Highway Engineering Company (CFHEC).

Dubbed The Seagull Talents, the program was launched at the National Advanced School of Public Works (ENSTP) in Yaoundé on August 3. The first cohort comprises 30 final-year ENSTP students and 24 Cameroonian employees of CFHEC.

Participants will initially complete ten days of certified training in topography and land surveying, combining classroom instruction, practical exercises and site-based learning. They will then undertake a two-month internship on CFHEC construction projects in Cameroon.

The program is being implemented under a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Higher Education, ENSTP and CFHEC. It follows an earlier partnership signed by the ministry and the Chinese construction company on January 13, 2026, to strengthen cooperation between universities and employers and improve graduate employability.

According to the Ministry of Higher Education, the initiative introduces a dual-qualification model under which participants can obtain both an academic qualification and a professional certificate aligned with international standards. The approach is intended to address a persistent gap between engineering education and the practical skills required by construction companies. It also seeks to prepare Cameroonian graduates and workers for employment on major infrastructure projects at home and abroad.

Professor Nkeng George Elambo, Director General of ENSTP, said the government had established partnerships with several engineering companies operating in Cameroon to expand practical training opportunities, with CFHEC becoming the first to implement such a program.

“By the time they are getting out of our institution, they would have not only acquired the theoretical knowledge, but they have acquired the professional skills and developed the spirit of entrepreneurship, which eventually is very useful when they practice their profession,” he said.

CFHEC’s portfolio in Cameroon provides participants with access to some of the country’s largest road construction projects. The company is responsible for the second phase of the 141-kilometre Yaoundé-Douala motorway, estimated at nearly CFAF880 billion. It was also awarded a CFAF20 billion contract in December 2024 to construct 33 kilometers of road in northern Cameroon and secured another contract in October 2024 for ten kilometers of roadworks along the Wouri River in Douala.

The Ministry of Public Works said the initiative would help bring technical training closer to the needs of the labor market. CFHEC, for its part, said the program formed part of its commitment to technology transfer and the development of local expertise.

Mercy Fosoh