The British Council in Malawi recently held a workshop to develop training standards for two agricultural skills courses that will be piloted under the VET Toolbox project (co-funded by the European Union and German Government BMZ). The activity is part of a process to train up to 200 beneficiaries who will provide much-needed skills in commercial farms being established by the Shire Valley Transformation Programme (SVTP) 2018 – 2031.

Facilitated by the Technical, Entrepreneurial, Vocational Education and Training (TEVET) Authority, the workshop brought together experts from industry, vocational training institutions, higher education, and industry to draft competency standards for short courses in Irrigation Infrastructure, and Farm Machinery. The standards outline the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes required by professionals in these disciplines who will work on the commercial farms. In the coming months, the standards will be validated by project stakeholders and then developed into full curricula and training manuals which will be used for teaching and learning. 

The pilot training programmes will be implemented by three Vocational Training Institutions (VTIs) and include a Work-Experience Learning (WEL) component where trainees will undergo practical training at various agri-business employers. The courses will respond to the growing demand for skills in the agriculture sector. The SVTP is one of many national investments to boost Malawi’s agricultural commercialisation as outlined in Vision 2063.

In addition, the British Council and the TEVET Authority of Malawi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which formalises their partnership on the project.

The VET Toolbox programme in Malawi is scheduled to run until December 2024 and is a partnership of leading European development agencies including Enabel (Belgium), Expertise France (France), GIZ (Germany), LuxDev (Luxembourg) and AFD (France). 

For more information, please visit the VET Toolbox website and the VET Toolbox brochure.