Paris, France · 16 June 2026
The African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), WorldSkills International (WSI), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) jointly convened a two-day workshop on the Africa Skills Landscape (ASL) Initiative in Paris on 15-16 June 2026. The workshop brought together 24 institutions from across the United Nations system, international organisations, bilateral development agencies, NGOs, foundations, development finance institutions, and multilateral development banks to advance a coordinated approach to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) across Africa.
The ASL Initiative aims to provide a basis for strengthened coordination between international stakeholders implementing TVET initiatives across Africa through systematic mapping of ongoing and forthcoming projects and programmes. The Paris workshop marked an important milestone, as participants discussed how to use the mapping insights and co-created concrete next steps to move beyond a proof of concept.
The Coordination Challenge
Africa's TVET ecosystem has become increasingly diverse, involving governments, regional organisations, development agencies, UN entities, development finance institutions, private sector partners, philanthropic organisations, and civil society. While this diversity presents significant opportunities for investment and innovation, it also creates substantial challenges in coordination, visibility, and alignment.
Many TVET-related initiatives operate in parallel across the continent, and stakeholders frequently lack a comprehensive overview of ongoing and planned initiatives. This fragmentation can lead to duplication of effort, missed opportunities for synergy, and inefficient allocation of resources — particularly acute at a time when development financing is becoming more constrained.
"Strengthening skills systems is essential for Africa's industrialization, economic transformation, and job creation agenda. At a time when development resources are becoming more constrained, enhanced coordination and evidence-based planning are critical to maximizing the impact of investments in skills development."
— Juan Pablo Davila, Head of the Skills Development, Entrepreneurship and Fair Production Unit, UNIDO
Aligning with the Continental TVET Strategy
The ASL Initiative is designed to support the implementation of the African Continental TVET Strategy 2025-2034, which provides the overarching policy framework for skills development on the continent. The strategy, adopted by African Union Member States, sets out a ten-year vision for harmonising and strengthening TVET systems to meet the demands of Africa's industrialisation and economic transformation agenda.
Workshop participants explored how the mapping exercise could contribute to this strategy by identifying gaps, highlighting successful models, and enabling more strategic deployment of resources. The initiative also aligns with Agenda 2063, the African Union's 50-year development blueprint, which identifies human capital development and skills as critical enablers of the continent's socio-economic transformation.
"Africa's demographic dividend can only be realized through sustained investment in skills development. The Africa Skills Landscape initiative represents an important step towards improving transparency, coordination, and accountability across the TVET ecosystem in alignment with Agenda 2063 and the Continental TVET Strategy 2025-2034. By strengthening our collective understanding of who is doing what and where, we can better build synergies, and support a more coordinated skills agenda for the continent."
— Nicholas Oua, Principal Officer, Higher Education and TVET, African Union Commission
The Role of International Partners
Each of the four lead partners brings a distinct institutional capability to the initiative:
| Partner | Mandate | Contribution to ASL |
|---|---|---|
| African Union Commission | Continental policy and strategy | Political leadership, alignment with Agenda 2063 and Continental TVET Strategy |
| UNIDO | Inclusive and sustainable industrial development | Expertise in industrial skills, value chains, economic transformation |
| WorldSkills International | Global skills excellence network (120+ member countries) | Convening power, skills standards, competition-based benchmarking |
| UNESCO | Education and lifelong learning | Policy advice, capacity development, coordination of Inter-Agency Group on TVET |
The workshop also leveraged the WorldSkills movement's global network to foster strategic partnerships and explore ways in which the mapping could contribute to continental TVET implementation. WorldSkills members from Africa and Europe participated, bringing practitioner-level knowledge of skills systems and training infrastructure.
"The WorldSkills movement has long demonstrated the transformative power of skills in changing lives and strengthening economies. Through the Africa Skills Landscape initiative, we are helping to create a clearer picture of the skills development ecosystem, enabling partners to work together more strategically and maximize the impact of their investments in young people and skills excellence."
— David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International
From Mapping to Action
The Paris workshop was not merely an exercise in data collection. Participants co-created concrete next steps to move the initiative beyond a proof of concept, discussing how the mapping insights could be operationalised to improve resource allocation, reduce duplication, and accelerate progress toward inclusive and sustainable economic transformation.
Participants reaffirmed their commitment to working together to strengthen collaboration and maximise the impact of investments in skills development across Africa. They agreed that a shared understanding of the TVET landscape will be instrumental in supporting more effective partnerships, improving resource allocation, and accelerating progress.
Next Steps: WorldSkills Conference 2026
The preliminary results of the ASL mapping exercise will be presented at the WorldSkills Conference 2026 in Shanghai in September 2026. This presentation will provide the first continental overview of TVET investments and initiatives, offering stakeholders a tool for strategic planning and partnership development.
The conference presentation is expected to serve as a catalyst for broader engagement, potentially attracting additional partners to the initiative and generating momentum for the domestication of the Continental TVET Strategy at the national level. It will also provide an opportunity to test the mapping methodology against the scrutiny of a global audience of skills experts and policymakers.
Implications for Skills Development in Africa
The ASL Initiative arrives at a pivotal moment for African skills development. The continent's youth population is projected to reach nearly 850 million by 2050, creating both a demographic dividend and a potential crisis of unemployment and underemployment if skills systems cannot keep pace. The Continental TVET Strategy 2025-2034 provides the policy framework, but its implementation depends on the kind of coordinated, evidence-based planning that the ASL Initiative is designed to enable.
For African policymakers, the mapping exercise will provide a tool to identify gaps in their national TVET ecosystems and to benchmark their investments against regional and continental patterns. For development partners, it will offer a mechanism to align their investments with continental priorities and to identify opportunities for collaboration that reduce duplication and maximise impact. For training institutions and the private sector, it will create greater visibility of the skills landscape, enabling more strategic partnerships between training providers and employers.
Sources
- WorldSkills International. "International partners strengthen collaboration to advance TVET in Africa." 1 July 2026.
- UNIDO. LinkedIn post on ASL workshop.
- WorldSkills Conference 2026. "Mapping Skills Development Initiatives in Africa."
- Africa Skills Landscape Workshop concept note.
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Institutional Research Desk · Foresight Institute of Research and Translation
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