The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has pledged to train 100,000 young people and women over the next five years for green jobs. The initiative forms the core of the National Green Jobs Development Plan (PNDEV), a program aimed at developing skills to meet the challenges of climate change.

The plan was officially endorsed during a workshop held in Kinshasa from October 21 to 28, alongside the National Register of Green Occupations. An inter-ministerial decree signed at the event gave both documents legal force.

Green jobs encompass activities that contribute to protecting and restoring the environment. The DRC has identified 84 such occupations, grouped into 11 professional categories covering fields such as sustainable agriculture, forest management, renewable energy, waste recycling, water management, and green hydrogen production.

The PNDEV, not yet publicly released, is described by officials as a key tool to align the country’s economic transformation with efforts to tackle both unemployment and climate change. In addition to training 100,000 young people and women, the plan includes purchasing training equipment, rehabilitating centers run by the National Institute for Professional Preparation (INPP), training instructors, and establishing a Green Jobs Observatory and an Information Hub.

Employment and Labor Minister Ferdinand Massamba wa Massamba hailed the approval as a “historic step” toward structuring the DRC’s labor market. He said the country now has a legal framework to align skills supply and demand in the green jobs sector, a sign, he added, of the government’s intent to align employment policy with the ecological transition.

Environment Minister Marie Nyange Ndambo said the new framework strengthens the DRC’s position in global climate talks linked to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). “By leveraging our natural resources through training and employment, we demonstrate that the DRC is not only the lung of the world but also a driving force in the ecological transition,” she said.

Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka urged ministries to integrate the green-jobs dimension into their sectoral programs. “The DRC wants to transition from being an ecological reservoir to becoming a global hub for green jobs,” she said, stressing the need to turn commitments into tangible results.

Boaz Kabeya