Open house on trade and employment in southern Haiti highlights youth skills and ambition | PHOTOS

CAMP-PERRIN, Haiti — Over 100 young Haitians gathered in Camp-Perrin this month for the fourth edition of nonprofit Helvetas Haiti’s Open House on Trade and Employment, known by its French acronym JPOME. The event brought together students, artisans, entrepreneurs and institutional leaders to promote vocational training, entrepreneurship and pathways to employment.

Held Dec. 13 at Le Recul Residence amid rising unemployment and limited opportunities, JPOME 2025 created a rare space for young people—especially women—to showcase their technical and artistic talents, connect with professionals, and envision sustainable futures rooted in work and innovation.

The initiative, organized in partnership with the Liechtenstein Medicor Foundation as part of a vocational training and development project called PROFESE, aimed to bridge the gap between training and employment by highlighting work-study programs and showcasing the technical and artistic skills of project beneficiaries from several technical and trade schools across the South and Southeast departments. Through exhibitions, panel discussions and networking sessions, participants explored opportunities to turn practical skills into sustainable livelihoods.

Several panel sessions focused on entrepreneurship and workforce development were led by professionals, including PROFESE’s coordinator Kerby Fleurant, entrepreneur Amisial Ledix, management consultant Hébert Lahatte and journalist-entrepreneur Valéry Numa.

Addressing the audience, Numa urged young people to invest in learning a trade and to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset. “In entrepreneurship, you need both aptitude and attitude to reach new heights,” he said, encouraging participants to nurture their ambitions and seize opportunities.

Lahatte emphasized the importance of building viable, socially responsive businesses. “We must decide to change in order to adapt, or even anticipate change, because the world is constantly evolving,” he said. “Wealth lies in work and entrepreneurship, and in partnering with competent and ethical professionals.”

During the forum, Helvetas also honored 20 young people from the region who won the Regional Entrepreneurship for Employment Competition, with different group winners receiving checks for 100,000 gourdes each, about $770. The organization’s national director, Jean-Christophe Gousseau, welcomed the strong participation of young people, particularly women, and encouraged them to invest in vocational training as a pillar of national development.

Esnord Ridoré, a representative of the Association of Construction Technicians (ATECO), highlighted the importance of skills-based education. “When you support a young person in learning a trade, you are giving them a future,” he said. “Without a trade, it is as if everything stops.”

Through initiatives such as JPOME, Helvetas Haiti aims to strengthen youth employability and entrepreneurship and foster collaboration among institutions committed to building sustainable economic opportunities in southern Haiti.

The following images document moments of learning, exchange and determination, as participants presented trades ranging from construction and crafts to business development, underscoring how skills training remains a critical lever for youth empowerment and local development in southern Haiti.

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