3 years working in TVET for the young people in Africa with “DON BOSCO Tech Arica (DBTA)” – An update
In September 2017 the network office began its active work and I also joined the DBTA team as a program manager. DBTA is the technical support office of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Sub-Saharan Africa for the field of ”Technical and Vocational Education and Training”. The target group is the Youth, especially the disadvantaged and marginalized ones. The support covers 34 countries and 102 vocational training centers.
The aim of the work of the office is to create internal network structures and thereby strengthen external networking on the continental level in the field of TVET on the one hand, and to establish an acceptance for technical education on regional, continental and international political level and make TVET a first career choice on the other. Furthermore, and in the same way important, to establish the network office as a continental focal point for TVET topics and internal and external stakeholders.
Everything began with one cooperation, with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), but soon the office established further co-operations. Projects, especially in the area of capacity building, were developed in cooperation with these international partners:
- projects under different budget lines/titles with the BMZ
- La Francophonie, Dakar
- the International Labor Organization (ILO), Turin
- Commission of the European Union, Brussels
- the African Union, Addis Ababa
- the African Development Bank, Abuja & Maputo
- the Catholic Institute of Education, Johannesburg
- World Skills International and World Skills Africa
- Porticus and many other NGOs and key-player in TVET
This made a significant contribution to the network building and increased the quality of the service delivery, which is reflected through the documents listed below. These documents represent a sustainable and profound basis for the further development of the network office and its members:
- Creation of a continental quality manual for Job-Service Offices/Officers (in 4 languages)
- National labor market surveys in 25 African countries (in the respective national language) and a labor market study at continental level (in English and French)
- Support in the establishment of TVET strategic plans for 14 countries
- Development of a solar training program in 6 volumes/books (not yet completed)
- Development of a quality manual for the Centre Management of TVET centers (based on ISO standards)
- Adoption of the Life Skills Manual from CIE and its translation (into English and Portuguese)
- Creation of video clips on topics related to vocational training in Africa
Based on these documents, key personnel from all over the continent have been trained to pass on this knowledge to their respective countries. The following tasks were also successfully worked on:
- Establishment of the Salesian Job-Service Offices in the respective countries
- Joint webinars with the African Union on topics of continental interest in the field of TVET
- Joining of the working group for “Vocational Education” and “Vocational Counseling and Career Guidance” of the African Union
- Development of a project (together with European partners and the EU) for the exchange of European and African teachers and vocational students in order to promote mutual learning and understanding on the subject of vocational training between Africa and Europe
- Development of a training program (in cooperation with the ILO, Turin) for vocational school management and training of the entire management of all Salesian vocational schools in sub-Saharan Africa
- Organization of annual continental network meetings and specialist events with internal and external key persons or organizations in the area of TVET
Through this work, the financial resources could also be increased to a double-digit million Euro amount. Now it’s time to build on this solid basis over the next few years. On the one hand, the internal structures must be further strengthened and the exchange between the internal stakeholders increased. On the other hand, TVET and its social significance must be raised at an international level and the acceptance of this career path must be increased.
The next three years are just around the corner with many tasks to execute…