In a landmark step for Haitian education and youth empowerment, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé officially inaugurated the new Higher Technical Education Center (CEST) in Petit-Goâve on Saturday, August 15, 2026. The launch capped off the prime minister’s official working visit to Haiti’s southern region, bringing together senior government officials, educational leaders, and community stakeholders for the ceremonial opening hosted at Faustin Soulouque High School.
Attendees of the inauguration included Vijonet Déméro, Haiti’s Minister of National Education and Vocational Training, along with other national cabinet members, municipal and judicial leaders, representatives from the Public University of the West (UPO) and the Public University of the South in Les Cayes (UPSAC), and civil society delegates.
In his opening remarks, Minister Déméro outlined that the creation of CEST directly advances the current administration’s core policy priorities: expanding accessible skills training and vocational apprenticeship pathways for Haitian young people. The new institution will offer instruction across a range of in-demand disciplines, with management and finance among the first programs slated to launch.
Déméro added that CEST operates as an extended educational hub affiliated with three established national training institutions: the Center for Basic Education Training (CFEF), the National School of Applied Geology (ENGA), and the National Higher School of Technology (ENST). This affiliation allows the new center to leverage existing academic resources and institutional expertise to deliver high-quality technical education from its launch.
Prime Minister Fils-Aimé celebrated the new center as a transformative investment for young residents of Haiti’s Palmes region, stressing that strategic investment in accessible education is a core national duty. Echoing a widely recognized principle of sustainable development, he noted, “When we train a young person, when we teach a young person a trade, we don’t just give them a fish, we teach them to fish.”
Beyond workforce development, the prime minister also highlighted the critical link between educational access and democratic progress, urging Haitian youth to engage actively in civic life. “Register, participate, and choose because tomorrow Haiti is in our hands,” he told attendees, framing youth engagement as central to strengthening the country’s democratic institutions and building a more prosperous future for all Haitians.