March and April saw the launches of the EU and BMZ funded VET Toolbox in Ghana and Malawi respectively. With over 150 attendees across the two events, including representatives from the European Union, Government Ministries, private sector stakeholders and farm cooperatives, the official launches were a key moment for the project, marking the end of scoping phases and the beginning of project activities which will provide training and work for up to 400 young people in each country, with the aim of increasing agricultural productivity and securing employment opportunities.
Whilst both projects will focus on agricultural skills, the Agricultural Skills Enhancement Programme in Ghana will complement the Savannah Zone Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project, supporting training areas such as Tractor Operator’s Skills and Attitude and Farm Enterprise Management and Agronomy, focusing on the Northern and North East Regions. The project will work with six VET centres to increase their capacity to deliver fit-for-purpose agricultural-skills development as well as to train 30 VET trainers.
Meanwhile in Malawi, the Enhancing Commercial Farming in the Shire Valley project will work alongside the Shire Valley Transformation project to develop an Agri-TEVET skills development framework with the introduction of two courses, as well as mechanisms to foster dialogue between employers and training providers. The project will provide capacity building for 20 TEVET trainers and work with four TEVET Centres to deliver fit-for-purpose agricultural-skills-development programmes.
Both country launches are part of the wider VET Toolbox project, a partnership between Enabel, Expertise France, GIZ, LuxDev and the British Council and co-funded by the European Union (EUR 30m) and BMZ (EUR 1.75m), which supports human capital needs and demand-drive skills development and Vocational Education and Training, catering for investment needs in 11 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa.
