Commonwealth Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA) Conference in Kigali, Rwanda (25th – 31st August 2019)
From August 25th -31st, CAPA is running under the theme “Building Partnerships for the Promotion of TVET for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Youth Employment”. The conference is attended by 20 African countries members of CAPA, Education Ministers, Technical Universities, Polytechnics, and Technical Colleges and Vocational Training Institutes in Africa and other stakeholders in TVET. Speaking at the opening PM Ngirente explained how the Government of Rwanda believes that Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) skills are one of the drivers that support the economic transformation the country needs. TVET role in the country’s economic transformation would be possible if graduates are highly skilled and competitive in the labor market. The country’s target in the National Strategy for Transformation 2017-2024 is to increase the number of students attending TVET schools to 60% by 2024 from 31.1% in 2017.
Supporting young people to acquire job-related skills has been a considerable developmental challenge for governments in Africa. It is in fact one of the seven Aspirations of Agenda 2063 to have an Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of its people.
The 2019 CAPA is being held in Rwanda in recognition of the tremendous strides in revamping and rebranding TVET by the Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Education.
Since it\’s inception 41 years ago, CAPA has played a key role in supporting professional and skills development as well as promoting policy advocacy in favour of TVET as a major driver of economic development. The Pan-African organization was established following a resolution of the 7th Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers that was held in Accra, Ghana in March 1977.The Government has increasingly invested in TVET at multiple levels of education. In Rwanda, TVET has been one of the most powerful tools to fight poverty by providing skills to gain paid employment. TVET has also promoted and supported creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in order to develop the ability to create jobs in the face of labor mobility opportunities such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
