Strengthening networking and innovation in vocational training in Africa

Within the framework of the Platform of Expertise in Vocational Training (Pefop), the IIEP-UNESCO Dakar plans to support innovative projects as a vehicle for supporting the operationalization of these renewed policies.

In order to define the outlines and modalities of this support, the Dakar workshop sought to clarify the concepts and definitions of innovative practices in order to retain the most relevant criteria.

The partnership with UNESCO-UNEVOC has made it possible to cross-check approaches by revisiting, in particular, the "promising practices" developed by the Bonn International Centre over the past several years.

Participants exchanged to identify and characterize innovative practices in thise field, formulate and prioritize general criteria. The prospects of ownership, actions carried out in partnership with economic sectors (PPP), the integration of young people into the labour market, as well as marginalized populations, the financial sustainability and efficiency of training schemes, and the alignment with national priorities were raised as priorities.

The participants from the different organisations shared their experiences to define these criteria, taking into account in particular the structures, activities and mechanisms, for the development of the call for proposals regarding innovation in vocational training.

The aim was to ensure that the various elements of the Pefop innovation support programme corresponded to the perceptions and understandings of the continent's actors. The basic documents for this activity will be finalised in the first half of 2017 to enable the call for proposals to be opened.