The MAC EU COMPASS Project recently marked a turning point for Gambian tourism, as dozens of youth graduated into a structured pipeline of jobs, enterprise, and international placement.
Speaking at the ceremony, Consultant and Project Facilitator Basamba Drammeh said the graduation is not an end. It is proof that skills beat irregular migration.
“We gave young people a better alternative,” Drammeh said. “Training, mentorship, and legal pathways. They do not need to risk their lives. They can build their future with dignity.”
The project, co-financed by the EU under INTERREG MAC 2021–2027 and run with CNP España and GTHI, now moves to its impact phase.
Five graduates head to Spain for six-month professional placements. Ten will stay in The Gambia for industry integration and innovation work.
“The call is out to the Gambia Tourism Board and partners: open hotel placements, back a Tourism Innovation Hub, and fund youth enterprises.”
Drammeh was direct: “Success will be measured by jobs created, not certificates issued.”
“This is where the real work begins,” he said. “Skills must meet opportunity. Ideas must become enterprises. Young people must become drivers of national development.”
He added that the model is circular migration that works.
“Safe, legal, structured. Gambians gain European standards and return with skills, or stay to innovate at home. The Canary Islands partnership positions The Gambia as a bridge, not a departure point.”
To the graduates, Drammeh’s message was blunt: “Carry professionalism, discipline, and integrity. Believe in your potential. Stay focused. Hard work plus opportunity wins.”
The COMPASS graduation redraws the map. Tourism’s future in The Gambia now runs through its youth, and through partnerships that trade risk for training. The project’s promise will stand or fall on what happens next: placements signed, businesses launched, and a hub built.
