Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) to host capacity building on Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification

The International Labour Organization (ILO) will under the Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) Programme, host a capacity-building workshop on Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED) between the 4th and 8th of April 2022. The workshop is set to draw participants from Zambia, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Ghana, The United Republic of Tanzania.  

The Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) is a Programme of the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) supported by the German Government and European Union and has partnered with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to build the capacity of member states on anticipation of current and future labour market skills needs. 

The training will focus on STED,  an ILO sector-based  methodology for identifying the skills current and future skill needs required to guide formation of skills development strategies that can aid countries to build  more resilient productive and competitive sectors in the context of global open markets.. STED supports growth and decent employment creation in sectors that have the potential to increase exports and to contribute to economic growth.  

The workshop therefore contributes to promoting  market relevant and integrated skills development, as a way to keep up with the rapidly changing and complex labour markets.  

The official opening will take place on 4th April, with guest of honour, Honourable Mr. Mudrick Ramadhan Soragha, Minister President’s Office Labour, Economic and Investment Zanzibar. 

Also attending will be Permanent Secretary from PMO-LYED Prof Jamal Katundu, Principal Secretary Ms. Khadija Rajabu from President’s Office Labour, Economic and Investment Zanzibar, and Director for ILO CO Dar, Mr Wellington Chibebe.  

The main objective of the workshop is to build the capacity of key labour market actors to analyse and anticipate skill needs in sectors that have the potential to increase employment opportunities, trade and which can contribute to economic diversification. By the end of the training, participants to the training will have:-

• Improved ability to identify priority export-oriented sectors with growth potential in line with sector development strategies through using available trade and labour market information;
• Enhanced knowledge on anticipating those sectors’ development and growth opportunities based on their global competitive position market development
• Acquired a constructive method for identifying emerging skill needs and understanding the outlook skills gaps in export-oriented sectors with growth potential;