Local students are taught to drive train on a simulation machine. (Photo by Lyu Qiang from People’s Daily)

Africa’s first Luban workshop, a Chinese program designed to provide state-of-the-art technical and vocational training around the world, was recently introduced in Djibouti.

The workshop will offer an opportunity to turn the dreams of more young people into reality.

To establish Luban workshops in Africa and offer vocational training for young Africans is a concrete measure to implement the eight major initiatives of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh attended the opening ceremony of the workshop. He sent his congratulations to the workshop, and said that the program would boost Djibouti's overall development by training the country's youth.

A Chinese teacher trains local students in railway gauge measurement. (Photo by Lyu Qiang from People’s Daily)

“Chinese technologies will bring innovation to Djibouti’s education and inject new energy into the country’s development,” Guelleh noted.

Chinese Ambassador to Djibouti, Zhuo Ruisheng, said that the Luban workshop marked a new chapter of China-Djibouti cooperation in regards to vocational education. He hopes that the two countries can join hands and build the workshop into another example of China-Africa cooperation and South-South Cooperation.

The workshop was built by China’s Tianjin municipal government, Djibouti’s Ministry of Education, Tianjin First College of Commerce, Tianjin Railway Technical and Vocational College and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

Four programs related to railway and commerce have been established, and each student will receive three years of education.