KINSHASA, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and China continues to deepen, expanding beyond infrastructure and construction projects to encompass vocational training and youth employment, DRC Minister of State and Minister of Vocational Training Marc Ekila Likombio told Xinhua in a recent interview.

According to Likombio, DRC-China cooperation is evolving toward a model that places increasing emphasis on skills development and job creation, as the DRC seeks to build a qualified workforce to support national development projects.

The minister made the remarks on the sidelines of the Sino-Congolese conference on vocational and technical training, held on Monday, in the capital, Kinshasa.

He noted that vocational training has long been underestimated in the country, sometimes wrongly perceived as a pathway for those left behind.

"Vocational training is the foundation of development for all countries in the world," he said.

Likombio pointed out that the DRC is currently launching a series of mining, infrastructure, and urban development projects, generating strong demand for skilled workers and specialized technicians.

In the absence of sufficient local expertise, some jobs intended for Congolese youth have had to be filled by foreign labor. "Training and certified skills open the door to employment," he said.

Noting China as a key partner, Likombio drew parallels between the development trajectories of the two countries. He recalled that several decades ago, China and the DRC were at comparable levels of development, before China opted to invest heavily in skills development, workforce training, and youth education.

"Today, the whole world has seen the results," he said.

In his view, China's development has been driven by a combination of long-term planning and sustained investment in human capital. "China stands as a strong example of a highly trained, highly skilled workforce," he said.

Stressing that vocational training is a natural extension of longstanding DRC-China cooperation, he recalled participating in a China-based training program on planning and macroeconomics in 2016, an experience that helped him better understand Chinese approaches to governance and development.

"We have learned a great deal from Chinese planning, and today we are trying to put those lessons into practice," he said.

In 2024, Likombio traveled to China to attend the World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference, visiting several training institutions and industrial sites and holding in-depth exchanges with Chinese officials on vocational training, skills-to-job matching, and youth integration into the labor market.

According to him, those exchanges laid a solid foundation for current cooperation.

Regarding the Monday conference in Kinshasa, the minister said the training programs focus on mining, infrastructure, and emergency medical care, and are closely linked to employment, as reflected in a job fair held the same day.

"At the end of the training sessions, recruitment will take place so that trained young people will have the chance to join Chinese enterprises operating in the DRC," he said.

Likombio stressed that the initiative is not a one-off effort. "This is not an end, but a beginning," he said, adding that cooperation areas and training formats would be gradually expanded in line with the country's needs.

"Without skills, without a qualified workforce, there can be no development," he said.

According to the minister, the results of DRC-China cooperation are already tangible through concrete projects, and the extension of cooperation into vocational training marks a new stage, helping "lay another stone" in the foundation of cooperation between the two countries. Enditem