First Africa Skills Week: Global cooperation for excellent vocational education and training
13.11.2024
The BILT Bridging Event in Ghana offered a platform for political exchange in the context of the first African Union’s Africa Skills Week. In Accra, discussions were held with African and international VET stakeholders: What could a global agenda for excellent vocational education and training look like?
Demographic change, technological progress, the effects of climate change and political conflicts are, in various forms, common challenges for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe – the focus regions of the “Bridging Innovation and Learning in TVET” (BILT) project. BILT is being implemented by the UNESCO International Centre for Vocational Education and Training (UNESCO-UNEVOC) and BIBB, and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
BILT Bridging: TVET strategies in Africa and on a global level
As part of the first edition of the Africa Skills Week, the BILT Bridging Event addressed these shared challenges. African TVET stakeholders, in particular ministries and TVET authorities as well as social partners, and international partners discussed how global cooperation can be strategically expanded to function in a better networked way.
The aim is to set excellence and innovation capacity in vocational education and training as joint priorities and to identify corresponding measures in the sense of a Global TVET Agenda – a process that was initiated internationally by the BMBF in 2023 in the context of the Excellence Initiative for International Vocational Education and Training.
The idea is based on the conviction that high-quality TVET needs to be relevant to the labour market, attractive in terms of individual opportunities, as well as internationally connected and recognizable. TVET is a key factor in strengthening social cohesion, global competitiveness and a just transition.
A global agenda for TVET
Peter Thiele, Head of Division at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has clear expectations of the event in Ghana. For him, it marks a further step towards increased political cooperation in TVET at a global level.
We are strengthening global cooperation in vocational education and training in the sense of a common agenda. We are building on existing partnerships and structures and want to expand them. Africa is an important partner and a continent of growth - in every respect. With the UNEVOC network and the BILT community in Africa, Asia and Europe, we already have a good foundation.
Peter Thiele, Head of Division at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
“We can see overlaps in most pressing issues and therefore the potential that lies in a global agenda for TVET. As part of the Excellence Initiative, we want to provide international impetus. The Africa Skills Week is the right occasion and the right format for political dialogue on developing a common agenda.”
The concept of a Global VET Agenda paves the way for regular political dialogue in order to coordinate priorities and identify potential for innovation and collaboration. This was discussed in Lyon recently at the WorldSkills Conference in September. The diversity of national education systems must be taken into account while at the same time developing concrete measures in politics, research and practice together. Ultimately, national vocational education and training systems should benefit from global cooperation – including Germany.
The BILT event in the context of the Africa Skills Week contributed to the further development of a global agenda for vocational education and training. The BILT event was hosted by the Ghanaian Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), a long-standing partner of BIBB and an active UNEVOC centre. Further information on the BILT Bridging Event can be found on the event website (see column on the right). Selected sessions, including the keynotes by Mr Thiele and the African Union, and a subsequent panel discussion were livestreamed.
As the highlight of the African Union’s Year of Education, the first Africa Skills Week brought together ministers and high-ranking representatives from the member states as well as international partners in Accra from 14‒18 October 2024. The diverse programme focused on education and training in the context of sustainable economic development under the title “Creating Jobs for the 21st Century: Unleashing the Potential of Transforming Skills Development for Sustainable Employability”. The event was organised by the African Union; the official host country was Ghana. The African Union Commission will institutionalize the Africa Skills Week as a regular high-level event for member states and international partners.