Pathways to strengthen TVET in Ethiopia

On 29 January 2024, UNESCO-UNEVOC welcomed high-level officials from the Ethiopian Parliament and the Ministry of Labour and Skills, led by Minister Muferihat Kamil Ahmed. The visit was part of a study tour organized within the project titled ‘Support to the Ethiopian Refugee and Host Community Programme’, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and KfW.

In her keynote speech, Minister Ahmed said that the visit was an opportunity to explore strategies with UNEVOC for strengthening technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Ethiopia.

As a country with a large youth demographic (70% of the 120 million population is under the age of 30), Ethiopia has a challenging target of creating at least two million quality jobs annually, and aspires to create 3.5 million jobs to absorb the labour supply. The government believes in the potential of the TVET reform agenda to transform the labour surplus into economic advantages that bring prosperity.

Adjusting the curriculum of TVET to fit the needs of eight different economic regions and prioritizing skills development for the five major sectors (agriculture, manufacturing, industry and mining, tourism and ICT), are some of the strategies of the Ethiopian TVET reform agenda. Other strategies include developing a labour market information system and initiating agreements with other countries to send workers to overseas markets.

The discussion touched on the topics of inclusion, innovation, greening and TVET cooperation through the UNEVOC Network and technical support services. The delegation was also introduced to the knowledge resources available on UNEVOC’s various platforms.

With 231 UNEVOC Centres operating in more than 150 countries, UNEVOC is ready to support the implementation of the Ethiopian TVET reform agenda executed by the Ministry of Labour and Skills. Through its capacity development programmes, such as the TVET Leadership Programme, collaborative projects and its extensive knowledge resources, UNEVOC advocates for quality TVET that is accessible for all.

TVET Country Profile of Ethiopia