Training & Employment: Capitalising to Continue to Meet Our Partners’ Needs
Vocational training and employment are indispensable to the construction of equitable societies in which each individual, depending on their capabilities and aspirations, is able to contribute to sustainable socioeconomic development. They are pillars of social justice and sustainable development and are closely linked to the realisation of human rights. They allow everyone to create and seize both individual and collective opportunities and take part in the construction of tomorrow’s world.
Building on its experience in the implementation of some 15 national or regional projects, or covering the entire world, in the vocational training and employment sector in over 20 countries, mainly in Africa, Expertise France’s Vocational Training, Integration and Employment Unit contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also meets the needs of partners and beneficiaries. As a French and European public operator, Expertise France’s activities in the vocational training and employment sector also fit in with the strategic frameworks of its two main donors: Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the European Union (EU).
The “Through the Lens: Vocational Training, Integration and Employment” document capitalises on the projects implemented by defining principles, concepts and approaches, as well as the lines of action of projects. The objective is to disseminate this information in order to continue to meet the needs of our partner countries.
The document is available by clicking on the image below or in the right-hand column (English version coming soon).
Principles, definitions of concepts and approaches
To provide the best possible contribution to the socio-professional integration of the target populations, Expertise France has adopted guiding principles that are applied in partnership with the public and private actors in the countries concerned:
• TVET and employment policies and systems are developed in consultation with companies and social partners
• Users benefit from quality public services allowing them to develop their skills in connection with labour market needs
• Learning environments meet individual needs and are inclusive
• The capacity of public employment services and cooperation with the other service providers (vocational training centres, actors in economic integration, etc.) are strengthened to bring about a successful training-employment transition
• Employment support schemes facilitate access to decent employment opportunities, including through self-employment and encouraging the switch to it.
At the same time, Expertise France’s action in the TVET and employment sector is based on concepts defined or promoted by leading international institutions. Consequently, the document defines the more or less general concepts, such as labour and employment, entrepreneurship, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), skills development and on-the-job training (sandwich training, internship, formal and informal vocational training).
The document also highlights the crosscutting approaches developed in projects, namely the climate transition and the contribution to the just transition, the role of digital technologies and mainstreaming the reduction of gender inequalities.
An intervention framework to sustainably improve TVET and employment systems in partner countries
The Department’s Sectoral Intervention Framework targets three priority areas for change in order to sustainably improve TVET and employment systems in partner countries:
• The design and implementation of more effective public policies on vocational training and employment, developed in consultation with companies and social partners
• Improving the quality of and access to public services for TVET and employment and matching them with the manpower needs on the labour market
• The development of skills and support to users for access to employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship.
These three areas for change are divided into six main areas of operation: (1) support for the development and management of public policies on training, employment and integration, (2) strengthening the dialogue and coordination between actors, (3) support to TVET centres to improve the quality of their training provision and its alignment with labour market needs, (4) strengthening public services for employment, integration and youth at the central and decentralised levels, (5) support for the implementation of training-employment systems adapted to the needs of economies and territories, (6) support for entrepreneurship.
These areas can be mutually supportive in order to fully meet the objectives set by the projects. When they are considered in this way in the context of a project, they make it possible to link the microeconomic dimensions (the training of individuals to develop their skills) and macroeconomic dimensions of training (its social organisation, in line with the needs of job-creating sectors). By helping individuals to strengthen/acquire skills and supporting employment in sectors where there are opportunities, they also contribute to their sustainable social inclusion, in line with Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 8.
Finally, these approaches must take the green and digital transitions into account, as well as the reduction of gender inequalities, in line with the agency’s strategic objectives on these issues.
Illustrations through projects
AFTER Rwanda – Improving the quality of technical and vocational training and the integration of young people into the labour market in Rwanda
Donor: AFD - Budget: €1.7 million
Find out more on the project sheet
CAP COMPÉTENCES (DRC) - Improving the quality of the appraisal, preparation and support for Agence Française de Développement’s vocational training projects.
Vocational training expertise facility
Donor: AFD - Budget: €4.45 million
Find out more on the project sheet
Donor: AFD - Budget: €8.5 million
Find out more on the project sheet
Donor: EU - Budget: €2.4 million