Professions in Haiti

A métier is an occupation defined by specific tasks and skills. A profession can be formal and regulated, supported by a recognized qualification, or practiced through self-employment, apprenticeship and experience. A qualification documents acquired competence. A référentiel is a competency and performance framework used to describe what a person should be able to do. A permis d’exercice is an authorization to practise an occupation where the sector requires one. Haiti's formal occupational system is fragmented. It includes regulated professions, vocational qualifications issued through the Institut National de la Formation Professionnelle (INFP), university qualifications and informal work. Common occupational fields include agriculture and agronomy, veterinary work, construction and BTP, mechanics, electricity and energy, automobile services, textiles and industry, commerce, administration and finance, health, education, social work, environmental services, engineering, information technology and digital services, transport and logistics, artisanat, arts and music, hospitality and other services. The INFP repertoire for 2026–2027 covers five economic sectors, 25 training areas, 696 métier-training options and 3,480 electronic référentiels. Technical entry usually begins at a public or privately accredited vocational training center, known as a CFPP. The person completes the relevant training, takes an evaluation or examination and may receive INFP certification. The program, duration and fee depend on the center and occupation; Haiti has no single national duration or price for all technical professions. The INFP accredits public and private centers, issues permissions or licenses for centers and monitors their standards. Regional Inspectorats régionaux handle accreditation and certification functions in their departments, so the center's current accreditation and available program should be checked locally. The official INFP examination calendar for 2026 lists examinations from 7 to 31 July 2026. Work experience can also support recognition through Validation des Acquis de l'Expérience (VAE), a process that assesses skills acquired through practice. VAE does not turn every informal activity into a regulated profession, and the cost and duration are not nationally uniform. A person should confirm which qualification the process can issue and which institution accepts it. University professions follow a different pathway. Admission to the State University of Haiti, or Université d'État d'Haïti (UEH), generally requires a Haitian secondary-school diploma or an accepted equivalence, a tax identification number and success in the relevant concours, meaning a competitive admission examination. UEH registration is listed at 800 HTG per institution or faculty, with applications allowed to up to three institutions. The 2026 admission process varies by faculty and campus. Examples recorded in current faculty profiles include at least four years for medicine, pharmacy and medical technology in the Faculty of Medicine profiles; five years for the agronomy-engineering program; and four years plus a thesis for law and economics degrees. Other local higher-education profiles record six years for medicine, three years for social work and psychology, and four years for education, environmental studies and spatial planning. Health professions have an additional licensing requirement. A person normally completes an approved university or school program, obtains the diploma or passes the relevant state examination and applies to the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) for a permis d'exercice. The MSPP's Direction de la Formation et du Perfectionnement des Sciences de la Santé (DFPSS) may require a tax identification number, a national identification number, the diploma, proof of specialization where applicable, social service evidence, photographs and legalization by the tax administration. The stated permit fees are 3,500 HTG for nurses and medical technologists, 5,000 HTG for general physicians, dental surgeons, pharmacists, nurse practitioners and midwives, and 7,000 HTG for specialists. Applications and permit checks are available online. The current validity period depends on the applicable procedure and should be confirmed with the DFPSS. Public-service professions use another formal pathway. A public vacancy notice or appel à candidatures can lead to selection or a concours, followed where applicable by a probationary period, appointment and titularisation. A fonctionnaire is a permanent public servant; a contractuel works under a seasonal or time-limited contract. Public-service entry rules include Haitian nationality, civil and political rights, good character, professional competence and physical fitness. The Office of Management and Human Resources (OMRH) oversees public recruitment and career administration. Advancement is linked to aptitude, merit and discipline, with promotion and career development governed by the relevant institution. Not every occupation has a universal state practice permit. General crafts and service trades may operate through artisan work, a small business, private practice, commerce or on-the-job learning. An artisan earns income from skilled manual production or services. A madan sara is a locally recognized trading and transport role, generally informal and associated with substantial mobility and safety risks. Informal work often relies on family transmission, peer learning or apprenticeship and may lack stable working hours, social protection and occupational-safety guarantees. Formal certification can improve access and mobility, but it does not replace a sector-specific permit where one is required. A private course certificate is not automatically a state-recognized qualification. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, including its labour and workforce directorate, provides career guidance, labour-inspection functions and workplace-safety oversight within the national legal framework. Its guidance process can require a dossier, tests, an interview and a service fee whose amount is not stated in the available information. The labour framework provides for eight hours per day or 48 hours per week, while the 2017 law organizes a 24-hour day into three eight-hour segments. Labour inspectors may enter workplaces, examine documents, take samples and order immediate measures when danger exists. Enforcement remains uneven. Construction, transport and market trading carry elevated accident, violence and mobility risks, while informal and self-employed workers often have fewer practical protections. A professional career can move from career guidance to training, certification, employment or self-employment, continuing education and VAE, and later work as a trainer, technician or supervisor. University careers can lead from a licence to specialization, teaching, research or administration. Health careers can add specialization after study, examination and the MSPP permit. Public-service careers can progress from a concours through probation and titularisation to promotion. Other options include artisan work, a small company, independent practice and trade. Agriculture, construction, commerce and informal self-employment have very high practical relevance in Haiti; health, education, public administration, mechanics, electricity and automobile services also have high relevance. Engineering, digital services, environmental work, agro-processing and arts have strategic relevance. People working as employees have rights and duties under the Labour Code, including working-time and safety protections, although practical enforcement varies. Professional documents, identity and tax records, and any required permit should match the work actually performed. Health professionals also face document-authentication, fee and social-service requirements that vary by category. Public servants have duties of exclusive and continuous service, ethics and discipline alongside their statutory rights. Vocational centers and programs outside Port-au-Prince and the Ouest department exist through departmental centers and regional offices, but coverage and program choice vary by department. MAST career guidance, INFP certification, UEH admission and MSPP licensing therefore answer different professional questions and should not be treated as interchangeable systems.