Inauguration of the S. Antão Employment and Vocational Training Centre in Porto Novo

The island of S. Antão now has a new Employment and Vocational Training Centre, with the inauguration this Saturday 29th of the new centre in the town of Porto Novo, at a ceremony presided over by the Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva.

“We are once again fulfilling the government's programme and fulfilling the commitment we made to the young people of this island,” said the Head of Government, praising the fact that this centre is closer to young people, offering quality training, “in line with what S. Antão needs today and in the future, in various areas, from hotels and tourism to information and communication technology”.

“Santo Antão is an island that is growing and developing with tourism - it has great potential to grow even more - and it needs to have training programmes in the area of hotels and tourism, but also in languages,” he added. In Ulisses Correia e Silva's view, this growth implies investment in infrastructure, not just public investment, but also demand for services, from private individuals and various organisations in the construction industry.

That's why offering courses in the construction industry, such as electricity, plumbing and welding, “makes perfect sense, because these are areas with a very high level of employability,” he emphasised.

“On an island where young people are legitimately looking to integrate into a global world, and taking into account that digital is now fundamental for this to happen, it makes perfect sense for the Centre to have an Information and Communication Technologies course, as it will from today,” he said.

According to the Prime Minister, the government has not yet achieved 100 per cent of what the island needs and would like in terms of job creation, employability and vocational training, “but this is the way forward: to massify, to include, to create conditions in all parts of Cape Verde, to guarantee a bright future for our young people”. “This Centre is important and desirable because it helps to retain young people in São Antão, always bearing in mind the freedom of choice of each person to live in Cape Verde or not. The state's duty is to guarantee the conditions for them to stay here. And that's what we're doing,” he said.

This centre, built in the old cheese factory, was financed by the government and is budgeted at more than 30,000 escudos (around 300,000 euros).

In his speech, the Chairman of the IEFP Board of Directors, Paulo Santos, said that the most recent data confirms the positive impact of our policies. According to the 2025 Employability Report - On the Employability of Active Employment Policies Implemented in the Year 2024, carried out by the Labour Market Observatory, “75% of young beneficiaries enter the labour market in the first year after training”.

“Entrepreneurship programmes stand out, with an insertion rate of 88%, and vocational training programmes, with 77%. Each young entrepreneur supported generates an average of 1.2 jobs, with 76.7% of employees registered with the INPS,” he noted.

“It's also a source of pride to see that 7 out of 10 young people are working in their area of training, a clear sign that we are aligning our training offer with the needs of the market,” said Paulo Santos.

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