Today, companies are faced with challenges resulting from changes experienced by the global environment, which enhances the importance of vocational training to align with best practices, be better known and gain competitive advantages.
Therefore, proper positioning of the company on national and international markets is, among others, dependent on the competitiveness of its human resources. Continuing education is one of the factors that maintain performance and improve business competitiveness, nationally and internationally.
In this perspective, a regional workshop was held on Monday, on the theme: “Towards a Sustainable and Effective Development of Technical and Vocational skills.”
The aim is to share experiences and exchange best practices capitalized on vocational training. An exchange that enriches efforts made in this area by promoting the emergence of new visions.
Action involves enhancing the role played by vocational training, providing a positive and attractive image prompting a gradual transformation of traditional industries into more advanced sectors as well as boosting investment in promising and emerging technological sectors. The success of this ambitious economic and social challenge rests largely on the efficiency of the human resources development system which is a major component of vocational training.
Three themes were discussed at this meeting. The first: towards a cost analysis taking into account the diversity of DCTP paths. The point is to analyze through this thematic the contradiction that exists in most countries between the strategic importance placed on development of skills and the lack of budgetary resources to ensure its effective development to match the objectives defined in the framework of national policies.
The second axis was centered on the mechanisms of monitoring and evaluation to improve the socio-economic results of the DCTP by studying the situation in countries of North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia which shows that many of them are aware of these links without however taking full measure of the effects that the reforms planned or in progress have or may have on the revitalization of certain areas of activity or simply the ability to integrate young people into the world of work. The difficulty in understanding the results of competence development is that it is not and it cannot impact directly or even match between training and employment. Skills development is in fact only one component among many factors that make a business integrate the virtuous circle of growth or value added production.
“Towards a DCTP that is part of the education system and training” is the last topic discussed. Indeed, the effective democratization of skills development, which is adopted in most countries in the form of a very significant increase of youth access to TVET, presupposes an integration of various training courses and qualification in the heart of the education system. This means that young people’s access to TVET should be done through a positive orientation towards qualifications and business with high possibilities of occupational and social integration. It also means that the skills acquired at the end of term can be recognized and validated as part of a national certification mechanism giving equal dignity to general education and vocational training diplomas.
It seems appropriate that the Tunis workshop begins to operate such a change in look and design especially since the discussion which started by ADEA in the context of the 2011 Triennial seeks to involve all 53 African countries in a deep reflection on how the reform of education and training will produce critical skills needed by Africa to enter the virtuous circle of sustainable development.
