WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CIOP IN BAMENDA
The Information and Vocational Guidance counselling centre CIOP, was formally called COSUP which was an initiative of the Cameroon government through the Ministry of Employment and Vocational training (MINEFOP). This centre came about because of the socio-economic situation of the country which was characterized by lots of unemployment and under-employment.  In effect after results gotten from the investigation of employment and the informal sector (EESI) in 2005, the job market tendency showed a rate of youth’s unemployment of   10% at a national plan with 21 and 20% in the two metropolitan cities of Yaoundé and Douala respectively.
Amongst the cause of this unemployment qualified by the President of the republic His Excellency PAUL BIYA as a « cancer worm », figured in its place the absence of a coordinated and harmonized information and vocational guidance and counselling centre.
In effect after a diagnostics from the guidance counselling centre, we have been able to bring out the following insufficiencies:
- The absence of an institutional and judiciary framework ;
- The absence of Equipment and psychometrical test ;
- The fact that guidance counsellors are not given space to exercise their functions in the educative system but rather are been sent to classes to teach ;
- Qualitative and quantitative insufficiency of human resources in guidance and counselling;
- The absence of a specialized structure in matters of guidance and counselling;
- Absence of synergies between actors of guidance and counselling.
It is as a result of the above that MINEFOP whose primary mission is the promotion of productive and decent employment engaged itself with other partners of education since 2007 (Basic Education, Secondary Education, Higher Education, Youth and sport, Social Affairs, Work and social security) have elaborated a national politics of guidance and counselling, to help resolve the insufficiencies above.
Through this, the Republic and Canton of Geneva Switzerland through its office of guidance counselling and continuous Vocational training (OFPC), organized a seminar in 2008 to help elaborate this politics of guidance and counselling.
Amongst the recommendations of this seminar figured the necessity of creating in all ten regions of Cameroon COSUP to be accessible to the general public free of charge and without appointment.
This Project, first of its kind in Cameroon, responds perfectly with the measures announced by the Head of State on the socio-Professional insertion of Cameroonians in general and youths in particular. Two of these centres were opened in Yaoundé on the 1st of June 2011 and Douala May 2013. COSUP has existed now for ten years until the 19th/6/2021 when a prime ministerial degree Decree N° 2020/2591 baptized COSUP to CIOP (Information and Vocational Guidance Counselling Center) thus opening four other structures in Bamenda, Maroua, Baffoussam and Ngaoundere making six structures altogether. In the nearest future, all ten regions of Cameroon will be blessed with CIOP.
Mrs. Kindzeka Mary Giese
C/SAF
Mrs. Gwe Alanndoh Beatrice
C/SOP
Mr. Tum Eric Makiyigome
C/SIP
CIOP MISSIONS
- Receiving the general public and youths of all ages to give them proper guidance and counselling towards a training program for a successful socio-professional insertion;
- Put in place a documentation gotten from the educative and vocational training milieu;
- Treat and actualized information on employment and put at the disposal of our target group which are; school dropouts, secondary, higher, university students and trainees of vocational training centres, parents/guardians, workers in need of professional reconversion, vocational training promoters, organisational promoters and employers;
- Promoting « cyber-orientation » through the development of a guidance counselling website and the passing of psychometrical test;
- Creating synergies between National guidance counselling services and employment
CIOP ORGANIZATION
- A team of experts in guidance and counselling who receive users of all works of life on daily basis and provide guidance and counselling free of charge and without appointment. Open all working days from 8am-4pm;
- Workspace on reception/information, guidance counselling, cyber and documentation available;
- A computerized data bank on educational and work structures.
- A cyber-workspace for all academic researches and the passing of psychometric test;
- Capacity building workshops on themes on employment, job search tools, internal and external scholarships and various training possibilities in respect to users need etc.;
- Career Zoom on various job sectors to permit participants exchange ideas with professionals in a particular domain taking into consideration the realities of the job market.
- Various outdoor activities ranging from trade fairs to promotion of employment forums
- An internet site orientation.cm regularly updated;
- Varied psychometric tests which enable users to choose and make judicious future choices. variés permettant aux usagers de mieux se connaître afin de faire des choix judicieux.
CIOP being a public center, all services are free of charge and without appointment. As of March 2022, CIOP being a newly opened center has a population of about 1144 users in its data base.