Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

Technical support

IIEP-UNESCO Dakar supports national and regional TVET stakeholders in the development, implementation and monitoring of vocational education and training plans and reforms in Africa. Technical support can be comprehensive or take the form of targeted interventions. This approach is based on a rigorous analysis of economic needs, with the aim of improving the transition from training to employment, and thus the employability of trainees. More generally, the support missions aim to strengthen the capabilities to plan and manage the system. The objective is to create the conditions for TVET stakeholders to identify labour market needs, develop their action plans, and respond to the challenges of the sub-sector in a sustainable manner. Our scope of intervention includes technical and methodological support for:

1. TVET Policy Analysis 

Assessment of the national TVET system, analysis of the obstacles to the implementation of reforms, and sector analysis of the TVET sub-sector: IIEP-Dakar carries out various activities (studies, workshops sharing findings, identification of innovative practices, etc.) aimed at promoting mechanisms for a successful "education-training-employment" transition. 

• Obstacles to the implementation of TVET reforms
  Read our series of analyses for Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
  ​​​​​​

2. Planning TVET strategies

Our experts assist in the development of national or regional action plans. This includes, for example, the definition of national or regional frameworks for public/private partnerships, the certification of skills or managing the process to validate acquired experience (link in French).

• Support for the development of a ten-year education sector plan in Guinea:
  Learn more about technical support in the field of TVET  (in French)
• Development of national certification frameworks in the ECOWAS zone:
  Learn more about IIEP-Dakar's technical support

In the framework of the PEFOP program, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar has selected three innovative and promising projects that are likely to contribute to the evolution of TVET policies in Africa and to provide practical solutions to the challenges of vocational training on the continent. The project leaders will receive financial support and guidance aimed at strengthening the tools and approaches of these projects, and document and disseminate their experience and results.

The three supported projects aim to:

• Structure job placement tools to promote the employability of disadvantaged learners in Burkina Faso | Christian Relief and Development Organization (CREDO) 
• Develop training modules for rural entrepreneurs in Cameroon  | Fédération régionale des écoles familiales agricoles du Grand Nord (FEREFAN)
• Deliver vocational training in local languages in Senegal | Société de développement et des fibres textiles (SODEFITEX)

Learn more about our initiatives to support TVET in Africa

Aware of the importance of human capital for development, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar has developed an annual training program in TVET management (PGEFTP) for sector stakeholders in Africa.

• 220 hours of training in French, over seven months.
• A mix of training methods (face-to-face + virtual), or 100% distance learning depending on the global health situation.
• Tailor-made training can also be provided, in-country, according to identified needs. 

Training in TVET Management with IIEP-Dakar

Action-research

Research and development activities are an integral part of the IIEP-UNESCO Dakar mandate. Studies and thematic work are conducted regularly to clarify TVET practices and strategies in Africa, to develop new methodologies and to make practical resources available to stakeholders. 

Our latest research covers the following themes:

• Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in TVET 
• Competency-based approach in vocational training
• The quality of TVET systems and the training to employment transition 
• TVET instructor training schemes (in progress)
• Digitalisation of the TVET sector in Africa (in process)
• Tools for identifying and anticipating competency needs (in process)
• Tackling the skills shortage in sub-Saharan African countries (in process)

All our methodological guides, notes, reports and publications in the field of TVET are available online.
Access resources 

Collection of best practices for managing and planning TVET in COVID-19 times

Digitalisation of learning environments, optimisation of vocational integration, adaptation to new skill needs of the labour markets... in the face of these major challenges, how can TVET stakeholders take advantage of the pandemic context? IIEP-UNESCO Dakar is documenting innovative practices and approaches to help TVET stakeholders to better understand and anticipate the new dynamics. 

Regional workshops and seminars

To facilitate the sharing of TVET strategy and good practice between countries, the IIEP organizes or collaborates during face-to-face workshops or webinars. These include: 

• Training-to-work transition workshop in Nairobi
• Public-private partnerships in vocational training in Dakar

Learn more about the stakeholder network and events in the TVET sector in Africa
 

PEFOP: looking back on seven years of transforming TVET in Africa

IIEP-UNESCO Dakar builds bridges between experts, practitioners and policy-makers on a regional scale by:

• Developing networks of stakeholders on the continent.
• Promoting policy dialogue in the TVET sector.
• Monitoring and disseminating news, good practices and innovative approaches to vocational education and training.

Platform for the mutualisation of tools and resources for vocational training in the WAEMU (in French)

Developed within the framework of PEFOP in 2017, this platform enables each member country of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) to discover and adapt the resources of others in the field of TVET. It promotes integration and employment, through a process of regional sharing. 

The PEFOP programme

From 2015 to 2021, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar has received funding from the French Development Agency (Agence française de développement AFD) to implement a Platform of Expertise in Vocational Training (PEFOP) at regional level. After an initial four-year phase focused on four West African countries (Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, and Senegal) in 2018 the programme focussed more broadly at mobilising, building the capabilities and equipping TVET stakeholders across the continent.

The PEFOP is based on three complementary pillars:

• Technical and methodological support for the implementation of vocational training policy reforms in Africa.
• Access to information and production of references relating to the TVET sector, as well as the networking of stakeholders and the capitalisation of exchanges and experiences.
• Support for innovation and experimentation in TVET.

Through this foundational programme, the Institute has strengthened its reach in the TVET sector and developed specialised expertise. This TVET function of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar is set to continue providing support to other programmes and projects on the continent. 

The PEFOP portal

A web portal dedicated to vocational training has been created within the framework of the program of the same name. It has become a fully-fledged tool of IIEP-UNESCO Dakar to inform and unite TVET stakeholders in Africa. Continuously updated and enriched by our teams, the portal gathers and disseminates the latest news in the sector, offers expert analyses, shares methodological resources, provides access to publications... 

Find out more about the impact of our capacity building activities and programmes

Ibrahima Diallo
Expert in integration and employment
i.diallo@iiep.unesco.org