British Council was delighted to facilitate a joint visit to Harrow, Richmond and Uxbridge Colleges for the Ghana, South Africa and Botswana delegations attending the 2025 Education World Forum in London.
The visit exemplified our work connecting educators, employers and policymakers in the UK and internationally to drive high-quality, relevant Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
The Ghana delegation was made up of the Deputy Director Generals of Ghana TVET Service and CTVET, the South African delegation was led by the country’s Deputy Minister for Higher Education, with the Minister of Higher Education in attendance from Botswana.
Harrow, Richmond and Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC) is one of the largest colleges in England and one of London’s best performing colleges. The opportunity to visit the Richmond upon Thames campus of HRUC responded directly to the Sub-Saharan Africa region’s interest in the UK’s TVET system, how it boosts youth employability and develops future-ready graduates.
British Council’s Country Director Ghana Nii doodo Dodoo writes: "The SSA TVET delegation to EWF were hungry to find out more about the UK’s system from many angles. Thanks to the British Council, this opportunity came through a planned visit to Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges on Thursday, 22 May.
What united the three countries was the determination to find out how TVET can be used to address Africa’s troubling youth unemployment challenge. Question after question touched on the connection between TVET and industry, the role of government policy and practical examples on how the college partnered with companies.
Being taken on a tour of the college was an eye opener. In the college’s cafeteria we watched student chefs do their own thing and what also caught our attention was the big ‘GAUCHO RUGBY’ sign on the glass window.
The college Principal Dylan McTaggart shared how their partnership with Gaucho Restaurant, a premium restaurant chain which caters to fans when rugby is in town, is a win-win business strategy.
As we left Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges to prepare to go back to our countries, discussions had already started as to how we were going to translate the inspiration into action. We can only thank the British Council and Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges for the spark of determination and innovation that we all took away from the trip.”
This partnership is supported by funding from the British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme. Going Global Partnerships supports universities, colleges and wider education stakeholders around the world to work together towards stronger, equitable, inclusive, more internationally connected higher education, science and TVET.
