Our challenge

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) – as well as primary and tertiary education – is one of the prerequisites for economic and social development. For employees and job seekers alike, developing the necessary knowledge and skills is crucial in many respects. On the one hand, the goal is to meet international standards of production, products and services. On the other hand, productivity and employment in the informal sector is to be increased.

TVET contributes to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals and the goals of the German Federal Government’s ''Programme of Action 2015'' by training people for a dynamic economic development and improving conditions for active participation of the poor. TVET helps to fight poverty by opening new perspectives for productive employment and income for poor population groups.

Our goals

• more growth and employment through qualified human resources for competitive enterprises as well as for those enterprises prepared for capital investment
• improved participation in economic progress of disadvantaged population groups in particular by making them more employable

These goals are derived from our mission: To help people acquire the technical, social and personal capacities to shape their work and their lives in a socially and ecologically responsible manner.

Our approach

To develop occupational competence, we focus on learning in the process of work as well as innovative teaching and learning methodology. Occupational competence encompasses technical, methodical and social competencies as well as problem-solving skills.

We stand for

• the closest possible collaboration of associations of social partners and individual enterprises in design, implementation and certification of training measures.
• a differentiated application of the principle ''market mechanisms where possible, state intervention where necessary''.
• the greatest possible autonomy and flexibility for providers of initial and further training.

Our systemic approach combines policy advice with capacity development at the meso level, and pilot projects at the implementation level.