Promotion of Demand Oriented Vocational Qualification Programme
Project description
Title: Promotion of demand-oriented vocational qualification in Nigeria
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Nigeria
Lead executing agency: Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning
Overall term: 2015 to 2017
Context
The strong growth of the Nigerian economy in recent years has not brought any significant reduction in poverty and underemployment. It is estimated that 24 per cent of the working-age population are unemployed, of whom 36 per cent are young people. Women account for 52 per cent of the total number of unemployed.
Approach
The project supports the diversification of the Nigerian economy through the promotion of demand-oriented technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for young people. To this end it is working with private actors as well as the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the state and local governments of Ogun and Plateau States. Its activities focus on the agricultural and construction (housing) sectors, in a strategy intended to improve the balance between measures on the supply side of the job market (vocational training) with those on the demand side (e.g. technology transfer and development; advice to producer groups and processing companies). This should enable the providers of vocational education and training to develop and implement courses oriented to the needs of specific target groups and markets.
The project is active in three areas. Firstly, it is working to improve the quality of in-company training in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), in both the formal and informal sectors. In selected value chains this includes support for informal learning and knowledge transfer. For this, the project is developing short courses and learning modules to strengthen the capacity building system and enhance the training available from trade associations and cooperatives. As well as technical know-how, the learning modules impart entrepreneurial knowledge to the target group, building up key qualifications which can be translated immediately into income and employment.
The second area of activity involves capacity building measures aimed t selected providers of technical vocational education and training. This is primarily intended to increase the labour market relevance of the resulting vocational qualifications, while also improving their quality.
Thirdly the project also aims to develop the role played by the private sector in delivering technical vocational education and training.
The activities of the project are closely coordinated with those of the Pro-Poor Growth and Employment Promotion Programme.
Results
By the end of the project, the new learning modules will have reached 10,000 trainees and employees of MSMEs, 25 per cent of whom will be women. Some 270 people will also have been trained to work as multipliers. The learning modules are being developed in such a way that they will contribute to the enhanced training and services provided independently by the trade associations and agricultural cooperatives after the project. This should guarantee the sustainability of the programme’s achievements, while also improving the services and training available.
Through the capacity building measures for the training providers, over the term of the project the number of teachers benefiting from further pedagogical and didactical training is set to rise by 33 per cent each year.