Observers of technical and vocational education and training in Egypt have commented on the poor outcomes of the system, particularly reflected in the relatively high unemployment rate of TVET graduates. While much unemployment can be attributed to economic circumstances, a major factor has been the system itself. Over the last few years, the government has begun to address the problems within the system.

A strategy has been approved to develop technical education and vocational training in accordance with Egypt’s economic goals.

It concentrates on:

			The importance of integration and coordination between the technical education and vocational training systems of different types, stages and levels through coordinating bodies
			Development of labour market information systems
			Building strategic partnerships with various economic sectors and large companies
			The importance of continuing education and training.

Read more here about:

			Strategy objectives
			Financing TVET
			Capacity issues
			Promoting private sector participation

Objectives

As one of its first tasks, the Supreme Council on Human Resource Development (SCHRD) issued a paper entitled ‘Policy Statement on Skills Development in Egypt’, which defined the government’s strategic objectives for TVET as:

			A qualifications framework that would foster lifelong learning
			A system that would be responsive to the demands of the economy
			A new legal and institutional basis for governing TVET institutions
			Enhanced labour mobility.

A number of short-term goals for development also emerged, including:

			Developing tripartite management of training in individual industries
			Establishing an integrated framework for TVET
			Creating a qualifications framework for TVET
			Reviewing relevant donor-supported initiatives with a view to preparing options for continuing worthwhile initiatives
			Reforming the administration of government training centres and technology colleges by monitoring their performance and providing them with greater financial responsibility and accountability for their operations
			Developing a substantive non-government training market
			Developing a broader-based, sustainable mechanism for financing training.

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Financing TVET

Public sector TVET is financed from budget allocations. The government’s growing interest in TVET has given rise to some changes, allowing a 25% increase in funding for training centres.

Vocational Training Centres may sell training services (contracted training courses, for example), goods (e.g. student production) or materials (particularly curricula and curriculum materials). Some ministries and authorities have special arrangements through which a percentage of the net revenue from these sales can be used to pay incentives to staff. But the greater part of the net revenue must, by law, revert to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with no net return to the centres themselves.

Student fees and student allowances

The level of student fees varies considerably among agencies and institutions. Secondary education, including technical and vocational education, is free. So, too, are most short courses run by centres providing training for the disadvantaged, for people already in the labour force. Other agencies charge fees even though, by law, the fees revert in their entirety to the MoF.

It is also important to note that institutions can support students through monthly student allowances.

Finance from donors and international partners

The European Union is providing 33 million euros to assist the Government’s TVET reforms. Assistance will help establish partnerships between government agencies (including training institutions) and enterprises, improve the quality of training and develop a system of national regulations.

The EU is providing finance under the Industrial Modernisation Programme for training top and middle managers in small and medium private enterprises. Meanwhile, the German government is providing 30 million euros to develop the Mubarak-Kohl Initiative.

Various other donors are also providing funds towards developing skills and Middle Technical Institutes.

Finance may be used to:

			Provide land, undertake construction, and purchase equipment
			Pay salaries and incentives for technical, teaching and administration staff of training centres and ministry departments
			Pay student allowances and incentives
			Prepare and develop training curricula
			Develop training material and supplies
			Finance studies and research.

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Capacity issues

Even with the development of appropriate standards and curricula, a question will remain about the capacity of the TVET system to deliver good outcomes. TVET institutions themselves regard their capacity as being severely limited in two respects: a lack of suitably trained instructors and a lack of adequate equipment.

The lack of suitably qualified and experienced instructors is probably the over-riding factor limiting the effectiveness of technical and vocational education and training. It results largely from inadequate recurrent funding since it is mainly attributable to the low wages offered.

Instructors who are graduates of Technical Secondary Schools usually have little work experience, while instructors who have acquired skills through work experience usually have no formal training or preparation as certified trainers.
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Promoting private sector participation

It is widely accepted in Egypt that too few private enterprises undertake adequate training, mainly because two out of three businesses are in the informal sector, concerned more with the cost than the value of training.

Many rely on recruiting staff that are already trained. Consequently, the post-employment system, at least in the private sector, is poorly developed and unstructured.

A report by the Employment, Education and Training Sub-committee recommended that the long-term objective for employment and training policies in Egypt should be to place greater reliance on private sector activities as the only feasible means of meeting the future training needs of the economy. The understanding behind this recommendation was the recognition that the public sector, important though it was, could not hope to meet all the projected needs of the economy in the coming years.
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