The 1st African Forum on Vocational Training took place in the Moroccan city of Dakhla on 21–22 December 2018 under the theme: “Governance of the Vocational Training Systems at the Service of Employability and Competitiveness in Africa”.
Organized by the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research, the forum brought together government representatives from African countries to share and exchange their expertise and best practices in promoting vocational training programs.
The debates carried by participants highlighted the importance of South-South cooperation to encounter common challenges related to the governance of vocational training programs in Africa and its impact on youth’s employability. Specific panel sessions were dedicated to discussing access to training to migrant populations, and raising the question on how to develop jobs in light of the climate change challenges facing the continent.
The Forum was also an opportunity for participating countries to strengthen the role of the “African Alliance for the Development of Vocational Training”, an organism that was created in April 2017 by 15 African countries with the support of the Islamic Development Bank to facilitate multilateral cooperation in the field of vocational training. Other African countries were invited to join the Alliance and build a road map and a common agenda of actions.
During this event, Morocco concluded a number of cooperation agreements with other African countries. Six conventions were signed by the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) , the Moroccan Office of Vocational Training and Work Promotion (OFPPT) and six African countries, namely: Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti, Chad, Mali and Madagascar.
Morocco has been paying great attention to the Technical and Vocational Training sector in recent years. The Moroccan King tasked the Moroccan government to set up measures to further develop the sector to meet employment demand and seize opportunities offered by the labor market particularly in industries where that attract foreign direct investment such as the automotive industry, the aerospace industry and renewable energies.