Abstract EN:

Cote d'ivoire's development policy, which is focused on the modern sector, has reached a stalement. This situation is due to the recession, caused domestically by bad management of state enterprises and externally by falling coffee and cocoa prices. The recession has been aggravated by additional factors such as the education crisis, the population crisis, the crisis in employment and youth unemployment (especially among qualified young people, where the rate rose from 13 % in 1978 to 38 % in 1986), a high rate of foreign immigration, movement of people between cities and the rural exodus, and increasing mobility of young people. Cote d'ivoire, which was once short of human resources, now has a surplus because of an overproductive and poorly adapted education system. How can this situation be improved without overhauling the system, which would require the injection of large sums of money ? the principle of implementing a social policy of widespread employment has led the government to move into the informal sector, an ideal area for developing small and mediumsized businesses and using human resources. Putting this sector on a legitimate footing by incorporating it into the formal economy would be one way of alleviating the unemployment problem. It is a sector that supplies and generates many jobs, contributing to the production of national wealth, distribution of income and provision of skills for young apprentices. The progress made by the sector of traditional and modern arts and crafts may be linked to job applicants having better skills and abilities. This has been made possible by the training and vocational education which provides the key to the growth, change and even transformation of these informal businesses.