As well as bicycles and spare parts, Velafrica also exports knowledge to Africa. In conjunction with our partners, we offer bicycle workshops, run training courses and train mechanics.
Velafrica’s partners currently offer 93 apprenticeships. These two-year courses have proven invaluable. They transfer both theory and practical knowledge of bicycle mechanics.
Train the trainers
Part of the training program includes training bicycle mechanics with professional experience to become teachers. They are then able to transfer their cycling knowledge to young people.
Däni Grüter has led the teacher training program for five years. Däni is a socio-cultural animator and runs a bike shop in Lucerne. Prior to joining Velafrica, Däni lived in Tanzania for several years and speaks Kiswahili, the national language.
Many Advantages
Our vocational training program offers many positive outcomes.
- Increased opportunities: Thanks for an apprenticeship, young people are offered a future path and the opportunity to start their career.
- Reduced poverty: Both the apprentices and the teachers benefit from the training program. All expand their expertise in bicycles and this increases the likelihood of achieving higher incomes in the long term.
- Sustainable use of bicycles: Well trained mechanics can undertake complex repairs ensuring that the bicycles exported from Switzerland can be used for a longer period of time.
- Skilled workforce: The apprentices can continue to work in the bicycle sector after completion of their training. Opportunities include opening their own shops, visiting remote schools as Flying Mechanics or direct employment by Velafrica’s partners.
In the video apprenticeship graduates discuss what the vocational training program means for them.
700 Apprentices in Burkina Faso
The newest Velafrica bicycle hub, Faso Velo, was opened at the end of 2019. Just like the bicycle centres in Tanzania, South Africa and Madagascar, young people will have the opportunity to complete an apprenticeship.
However, because Burkina Faso currently lacks the necessary structure for apprenticeships in bicycle mechanics, the program is much more comprehensive. In conjunction with the National Bicycle Association and the education authorities, Velafrica has developed a new, two year program. By 2023, 700 young men and women should be able to undertake their apprenticeship in bicycle mechanics.
Faso Velo plays a critical role as a training centre. At the end of 2020, Däni Grüter travelled to Ouagadougou for the first training workshop with 40 prospective teachers. There are many more to follow.
Find out more in «fokus»
Which Velafrica partners train bicycle mechanics? How will 700 young people in Burkina Faso complete their apprenticeship program? In the latest issue of ‘Fokus’, we report on our vocational training programs, the ‘Train the Trainer’ approach and the new bicycle mechanics apprenticeship course in Ouagadougou. Click here to read our four-page issue (german).
