Pierre Paul, Secretary of State for Population and Human Development, signed a subcontracting agreement with Junior Baltazar, Director General of the Boschoise New Technology Vocational School, for the vocational training of the "Second Chance School" (ESC) pilot program in Haiti.

Funded as part of the cooperation between the Haitian government and the United Nations agency for sexual and reproductive health (UNFPA), this program's primary objective is to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable youth by promoting their independence through vocational training and sustainable integration into the labor market.

This pilot initiative, funded through the 2025 joint work plan signed between UNFPA and the Office of the Secretary of State, will enable 50 young people, including a significant number of girls and women, including single mothers, rape victims, people with reduced mobility, the deaf and mute, and anyone in extremely vulnerable situations, to benefit from skills training and employment support aimed at ensuring their financial independence, which is crucial for their access to healthcare, healthy food, and decent housing. Eighty percent of the beneficiaries will come from displaced persons camps in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

Implemented by the Office of the Secretary of State for Population and Human Development in partnership with the Boschise New Technology Vocational School, this program seeks to reduce inequalities and community violence, thereby creating a safer environment conducive to the health and development of Haitian youth.

According to Jean Pierre Makelele, UNFPA Deputy Representative in Haiti, who attended the signing as an observer, the beneficiaries will be trained in an innovative profession for two months.

The first training session (first cohort) began on September 8, 2025, and will end no later than November 8, 2025. Graduation of the first cohort will take place 15 to 22 days after the end of the training session.

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre