White paper 08 · Annex B
Glossary and abbreviations
This glossary explains the technical terms, diplomas, institutions and abbreviations used in this paper. French terms are given where they are the usual names in Cameroon.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Alternance (formation par alternance) | Work-linked training that alternates periods in a school or centre and in an enterprise, provided for by Law No. 2018/010 |
| Apprenticeship (apprentissage) | Training under a written contract in which an employer or master craftsperson undertakes to train an apprentice in a trade |
| Billet | Semi-finished steel of square section cast in the melt shop and rolled into bar or rod; a merchant billet is sold to another rolling mill |
| BTS | Brevet de technicien supérieur: two-year higher technician diploma |
| BUCREP | Bureau central des recensements et des études de population: Cameroon’s census bureau |
| CAP | Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle: vocational certificate for skilled trades |
| CEMAC | Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon) |
| CFP d’excellence | Centre de formation professionnelle d’excellence: public vocational training centres of excellence in Douala, Limbe and Sangmélima |
| CFPS | Centre de formation professionnelle sectoriel: sectoral vocational training centre managed with employers |
| Continuous caster | Machine that solidifies liquid steel in water-cooled moulds into continuous strands cut into billets |
| CQP | Certificat de qualification professionnelle: certificate of professional qualification |
| Direct jobs | Jobs on the payroll of the steel company itself |
| DRI and HBI | Direct-reduced iron: iron ore from which oxygen has been removed with gas, without melting. Hot-briquetted iron is DRI compacted for shipping |
| Dual system | Training model, common in Germany, in which apprentices learn mainly in a company and partly in a vocational school |
| DUT | Diplôme universitaire de technologie: two-year diploma awarded by university institutes of technology |
| EAF | Electric arc furnace: furnace that melts scrap and DRI with an electric arc between graphite electrodes and the charge |
| EESI3 | Third survey on employment and the informal sector, conducted by the INS in 2021 |
| ENSET | École normale supérieure d’enseignement technique: school training teachers for technical education |
| ENSPY, ENSPD | Écoles nationales supérieures polytechniques of Yaoundé and Douala: public engineering schools |
| FCFA | CFA franc of Central Africa, pegged at 655.957 per euro |
| Global underemployment | INS measure combining unemployment, visible underemployment (involuntarily short hours) and invisible underemployment (earnings below the minimum hourly wage) |
| HSE | Health, safety and environment |
| ILO | International Labour Organization |
| Indirect jobs | Jobs in firms that supply goods and services to the steel company |
| INS | Institut national de la statistique, Cameroon’s national statistics institute |
| ISO 45001 | International standard for occupational health and safety management systems |
| ISO 9606-1 | International standard for the qualification testing of welders in fusion welding of steels |
| ISTD | Institut supérieur de technologie de Douala, formerly the University of Douala’s institute of technology |
| IUT | Institut universitaire de technologie: university institute of technology |
| KPIZ | Kribi Port Industrial Zone S.A., the company created in 2026 to develop the industrial zone of the Port of Kribi |
| Ladle furnace | Station where liquid steel in a ladle is reheated and its chemistry adjusted before casting |
| Local content | Activities that develop local capacities, use local human and material resources, transfer technology and subcontract to local firms, creating measurable value in the local economy |
| Lockout and tagout | Safety procedure that isolates and locks energy sources before maintenance, with a tag identifying the person responsible |
| LTIFR | Lost-time injury frequency rate: lost-time injuries (including fatalities) per million hours worked |
| MINEFOP | Ministère de l’emploi et de la formation professionnelle (employment and vocational training) |
| MINESEC, MINESUP | Ministries of secondary and higher education |
| MINMIDT | Ministère des mines, de l’industrie et du développement technologique |
| Mtpa | Million tonnes per annum |
| Nameplate capacity | The design output of a plant; sustained output is usually somewhat lower |
| NEET | Young people not in employment, education or training |
| NORMLEX | The ILO’s information system on international labour standards and their ratification by each country |
| OEM | Original equipment manufacturer: the supplier of a major item of plant |
| ONEFOP | Observatoire national de l’emploi et de la formation professionnelle |
| Permit to work | Written authorisation for a hazardous task, specifying the hazards, controls and people responsible |
| Phase 1, 2, 3 | The successive investments by which Cameroon Steel’s works would reach 1 Mtpa: melt shop and bar and rod mill; second melt line and sections mill; heavier sections and melt capacity |
| PLC | Programmable logic controller: industrial computer that controls machines and processes |
| RC-1.1 | Edition of 10 October 2026 of Cameroon Steel’s reference configuration RC-1, a planning estimate |
| Rebar and wire rod | Ribbed reinforcing bar for concrete, and hot-rolled rod in coils used for wire, mesh and fasteners |
| RGPH4 | Fourth general population and housing census of Cameroon, whose field count closed in October 2026 |
| Rolling mill | Line of stands that reduces reheated billets to bars, rods or sections |
| SMIG | Salaire minimum interprofessionnel garanti: national minimum wage |
| SND30 | Stratégie nationale de développement 2020 to 2030, Cameroon’s national development strategy |
| Supplier development | Structured support that helps local firms meet a buyer’s safety, quality and technical requirements |
| VAE | Validation des acquis de l’expérience: validation of skills acquired through experience |
Source: Cameroon Steel; definitions of local content after Law No. 2023/014 [S35], of global underemployment after INS [S12] and of LTIFR after worldsteel [S51].
Sources cited in this chapter
Bracketed markers refer to these sources; the full list is in the annex. Full list of sources
- S35Loi n° 2023/014 du 19 décembre 2023 portant Code minier. Republic of Cameroon (FAOLEX copy), 19 Dec 2023.faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/cmr223180.pdf
- S12Troisième enquête sur l’emploi et le secteur informel (EESI3), phase 1: enquête emploi, rapport principal (2021 data; Tables 2.9, 3.7, 3.24 and 4.1 are cited). Institut national de la statistique (INS), Cameroon, Nov 2023 (file of Jul 2025).ins-cameroun.cm/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/EESI3_Rapport-principal_Emp…
- S51Sustainability indicators (2025 report; 2022 to 2024 data). World Steel Association.worldsteel.org/wider-sustainability/sustainability-indicators/
Cite this chapter
Cameroon Steel (2026). Cameroon can staff its steel industry if training starts before the furnace does. White paper 08, annex B: Glossary and abbreviations. CS-WP-08. https://www.cameroon-steel.com/en/library/skills-for-steel/annex-glossary/
Source