Human resources development assistance project (HRDA)

activities in Africa. The evaluation covers the period 1988-3/92. A total of 233 Cameroonians have been trained to date, 41% of them women (vs. a target of 35%). Training has been demand-driven, i.e., in response to external requests, and USAID/C has demonstrated an excellent ability to tap the resources of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU"s), a project objective. U.S. and third country training have focused on developing skills to manage and implement reform programs. U.S. training has been concentrated in development administration (31%), management (26%), and areas related to the private sector (10%), while third country training has concentrated on management (54%), law (13%), and banking (8%). Both U.S. and third country trainees judged their training to have been of high quality and are in general utilizing the skills they acquired. In-country training, comprising 65% of the training budget (against a target of 51%), has been provided in two fields -- use of computers (94%) and educational planning (6%). Unfortunately, many in-country trainees have been unable to find employment, largely because of Cameroon"s current economic crisis. The Participant Training Management System (PTMS) was installed in the Mission in 1990, but its incorporation into project operations has been slow due to the lack of trained personnel. At the time of the evaluation, no linkage had been made between the PTMS and the management accounting systems (MACS) in the Controller"s Office. Problem areas include file maintenance, distribution procedures, and monitoring. Recommendations and action decisions address the problems noted above and include Mission development of a Country Training Strategy and Country Training Plan to direct project training.