Rwanda - Technical and Vocational Education and Training

• Context
• Target of the programme
• Activities
• Some results achieved
• Links
• Downloads

Context

The last couple of years, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been an important component within the Rwandese policy to end poverty. A reform of the TVET sector has been approved in 2008. Therefor, two new bodies have been created within the Ministry of Education: The Workforce Development Authority (WDA) and the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centres (IPRCs). The WDA has to organise the TVET strategy at a national level and the IPRCs have to develop into centres of expertise on a provincial level.

Since the reforms, the TVET gets increased attention from the government, the private sector and international donors. The choice to have a joint programme with BTC, APEFE and VVOB was quickly made, since all partners have already been working within the Rwandan TVET sector for years.

Target of the programme

The programme has a general objective of increasing the number of working adults in Rwanda. This is done by strengthening and supporting a national structure of vocational training. Besides, we also develop some typical TVET components like a labour market based curriculum development, training of trainers, quality control, certification, adopting interns positions, etc. Furthermore the improvement of the way the labour market is organised and of the coordination of the TVET supply in the southern province is an objective. We also strive to improve the quality of both school management and existing curricula. Finally, we help to develop curricula for vocational and technical training in the area of Hotels and Tourism.

Partners

Our strategic partner is the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC). Operationally we work in collaboration with the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), which was established in 2009. The WDA has authority over the whole TVET sector both for technical education on A1 and A2 level and for continued vocational training. Our operational partner in the south of the country is the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre South (IRPC South).

Activities

VVOB and APEFE implement the programme in collaboration with the Belgian development agency, BTC. The national VVOB intervention consists of educating and training of WDA staff in the departments of Curriculum Development, Certification and Accreditation. The focus of our support is on the development of systems and strategies between departments. To find out if these systems are sustainable and to identify the requirements of the staff the programme supports a vocational training in Hotels and Tourism, in which mainly girls and women participate.

On the level of the southern province VVOB supports the management of the IPRC South. The focus is on capacity development of the staff, the link to the private sector and school management in the educational centres.

Both on a national and provincial level VVOB works towards ownership by partners and beneficiaries with special attention to reasonability and environment.

Some results achieved

• An international symposium on TVET was organised in Rwanda. 150 TVET specialists from 15 different countries came together to discuss four TVET themes.
• VVOB contributed to the development of the structure of the Curriculum Development Unit within the WDA and to the job description of the staff that will be involved in curriculum development.
• In order to ensure a better understanding of TVET systems by the staff, two study trips were organised (one to Uganda and one to Kenya). Among other things they exchanged lessons learnt between countries with respect to the different TVET themes.
• VVOB supported the Labour Market Officer of the IPRC South by developing an Apprentice’s Logbook. 65 monitoring reports were produced and followed closely.
• VVOB contributed to five meetings between the directors of all Vocational Training Centres and technical secondary schools in the southern province.
• Three IPRCs have been established: IPRC Kigali, IPRC North and IPRC South.
• IPRC South and VVOB visited 53 providers of education in the southern province. They collected data of the RVET centres such as: the qualifications of trainers, the quality of the infrastructure and supplies, type of training, number of students,…
• A training in tailor-made construction was organised. 38 Teachers participated in a fortnight training. The teachers were encouraged to increase the number of activities.
• 80% of teachers in schools for Hotels and Tourism were trained in entrepreneurship.
• 107 trainers received technical training in nine areas: plumbing, electricity, cooking, welding, construction, masonry, automobile mechanics, public works and hair and beauty.

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