BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
When it comes to choosing between vocational education and the regular college route, it is a decision that will shape an individual’s entire career. The current economic climate is highly competitive with the number of degree-holders worldwide set to reach 300 million by 2030. These numbers have encouraged some to begin weighing their options in an attempt to stand out.
Considering the time commitment and cost, more and more individuals are contemplating foregoing college and taking the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) route. This option is especially great for those interested in a specific field of work and for those who are looking to gain hands-on training through a specialized program.
Cognizant of the advantages, East African countries led by Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania have taken a big step towards regional cooperation in TVET. Through the project, the governments of the three countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania- along with the World Bank are mobilizing resources to providing support and means to create and implement policies that allow TVET institutions re-engineer their learning platforms and modes of delivery thereby to meet the dynamic and ever-changing skills requirements of the marketplace.
The Ethiopian Herald approached the Technical and Vocational Sector State Minister with the Ministry of Labor and Skills Teshale Berecha (PhD), to learn about the project and its plan.
As to him, East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP) aspires to support regional integration in East Africa through creating regional platform to improve the quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), promote exchange of policies and practices, allow students and faculty mobility and harmonization of occupational standards and qualifications among these nations.
EASTRIP is progressing in a good performance in each member state despite some challenges. Some of the challenges emanate from the challenges created from the sides of contactors and financial inflations. “We are working to handle it.”
Ethiopia has seven EASTRIP funded TVET Regional Flagship Institute (RFTIs) and Kenya five and Tanzania four. Some of the TVETs under the project are the Ethiopian Railway Academy, and including colleges such as Holeta, Hawassa, General Wingate and Kombolcha TVET Polytechnic colleges. The Federal Technical and Vocational Training Institute is also the other one, he said.
Of the 150 million USD allotted capital budget, Ethiopia used over 80% in investing on constructing facilities and procuring state of art machines. To further enhance the success of the project, Ethiopia is striving to ensure and put in place collaboration (twinning) between TVET institutes with industries and other productive sectors that could help improve the quality of education and hone the skills of the trainees.
He also noted that Ethiopia is working along with 16 TVET institutes that have established Industrial Advisory Boards with private sector representatives. The Institutes have also signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with industries to collaborate on curriculum development and industry attachment.
“We aspire to create a uniformity of curriculum among the TVETs that could let higher education institutions generate well educated, competitive human capital with higher rate of employment thereby increasing labor mobility. In my view, the EASTRIP could let member nations benefit individual citizens from working in various parts of Africa and ensure regional integration.”
According to him, the facilities and infrastructures are anticipated to fulfill the set standards making the TVETs to be the center of excellence by supplying skilled workers in priority sectors required by the economies in the region. “We expect these RFTIs to become TVET centers of excellence that trigger and guide continental wide TVET reforms,” he remarked.
The EASTRIP project enables instructors of the TVETs and students to get opportunities to learn more and share experiences. The private sector industry as well as the public demand for graduates is growing.
This year, over 20 tutors and lecturers from RFTI of Ethiopia and Tanzania had been selected to be awarded to scholarships to pursue postgraduate studies in Science, Technology and Engineering at top Universities and Technical Colleges in China.
According to him, the project is on good track and each member states in the EASTRIP are working as per the set timelines. “We believe that EASTRIP is a game changer approach. It helps to addressing skills shortage and mismatch by creating technical, financial and industry partnerships to improve the relevance and quality of training programs in the 16 selected Regional Flagship TVET Institutes.
The Ethiopian herald April 27 /2023
