The International Labour Organization (ILO) is supporting African countries to translate the African Union's Continental TVET Strategy 2025-2034 into practical reforms that strengthen skills systems, improve links with labour markets and expand pathways to decent work.
The role of the ILO was highlighted during the Conference on Accelerating Domestication of the Continental TVET Strategy 2025-2034, held from 17 to 21 August 2026 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The conference brought together governments, TVET authorities, social partners, development partners and training institutions to move from continental policy commitments towards national implementation.
The ILO has provided technical support throughout the development of the Continental TVET Strategy and is contributing to its implementation through policy and governance reform, quality apprenticeships, recognition of prior learning, green and core skills, labour market information, institutional capacity building and regional knowledge exchange.
Across Africa, ILO-supported skills and lifelong learning initiatives reached more than 250,000 people in 2024-25, with support provided in 30 countries. Twelve countries updated skills or TVET policies, while ten advanced apprenticeship reforms.
For participating countries, the ILO's comparative advantage lies in helping connect skills policy with the realities of the labour market.
"From Tanzania's perspective, we see the ILO's support as critical in translating the Continental TVET Strategy into practical national reforms," said Twaha Adam Twaha of Tanzania's National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, NACTVET.
He highlighted the importance of aligning TVET policies and programmes with sectors that have strong potential for employment, productivity and economic transformation, while strengthening collaboration between training institutions and employers. Tanzania also sees further ILO support as important for quality assurance, recognition of prior learning and certification, particularly for workers who acquired skills in the informal economy.
"The ILO should play a facilitating and convening role," Twaha added, stressing the importance of social dialogue among government, employers, workers and TVET institutions. He described the ILO as a potential "bridge between policy and practice" as countries develop practical roadmaps for implementing the Continental Strategy.
Strengthening recognition of skills and labour market information
In Malawi, participants pointed to the ILO's contribution to recognition of prior learning (RPL), as an example of how international support can translate into national systems.
A participant from Malawi said the ILO had been a key actor in championing RPL and the Decent Work Agenda, while also calling for further work on quality apprenticeships and green skills.
ILO support is also contributing to the development of Malawi's Labour Market Information System (LMIS), designed to centralize labour market statistics for evidence-based policymaking and workforce planning. More than 200 national labour market indicators covering employment, unemployment, wages, education and skills are being developed and populated with verified national data.
The Malawi participant also called for stronger awareness of the Continental TVET Strategy and closer alignment between national policies, TVET programmes and continental priorities, with the ILO playing a facilitating role among regulators, training providers and social partners.
From continental vision to national reform
Participants from regional skills networks similarly emphasized the breadth of the ILO contribution.
A Sub-Saharan Africa Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network (SASASNET) delegate described ILO support as "strategic and transformative", pointing to its work on policy and governance reform, financing, quality apprenticeships, recognition of prior learning, work-based learning, green and core skills and labour market information systems.
The delegate also highlighted the ILO's role in setting international labour standards, providing policy guidance and supporting regional and national programmes that connect skills development with decent work and sustainable economic growth.
The Continental TVET Strategy is built around four foundations covering policy, governance and finance; quality and inclusion; partnerships and knowledge; and institutional development and innovation. ILO skills programmes across Africa contribute across all four areas.
The challenge now is to to translate strategy into effective implementation, commitments into sustained investment, and fragmented interventions into coherent, integrated national and continental systems, and turn these foundations into country-level reforms that are relevant to workers, enterprises and rapidly changing labour markets.
Through its tripartite mandate, the ILO will continue working with governments, employers' and workers' organizations and TVET institutions to help build skills systems that are inclusive, responsive and equipped to support Africa's young people in accessing productive employment and decent work.
About the African Union's Continental TVET Strategy:
The African Union's Continental TVET Strategy 2025-2034 provides a common framework for building more harmonised, inclusive, demand-driven and future-oriented TVET systems across Africa. It is structured around four foundations covering policy, governance and finance; quality and inclusion; partnerships and knowledge; and institutional development and innovation, with the aim of helping countries align skills development more closely with employment, productivity and sustainable development.
