The International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) held a five-day training for managers, trainers and staff members of seven Vocational Training Centres to strengthen their capacities on ways to improve the quality and management of their centres.

The training is part of a broader collaboration between the ILO and WFP, with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), to strengthen the systems and capacities of selected centres so they can better deliver market-relevant skills trainings to improve employability and address skills mismatch.

Around sixty representatives from Vocational Training Centres in Erbil, Duhok, Sulmaneya, Ninewa, Baghdad, Thi Qar and Basra attended the “Academy on the Management of Vocational Training Centres.” The training also included six representatives of the Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs from Federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in efforts to enhance coordination between Vocational Training Centres and national level institutions.

The five-day training centred around four key topics, namely systemic approaches to skills development and some of the critical challenges faced by Vocational Training Centres in Iraq; skills need assessment and competency-based training; services to facilitate career guidance of young people and their transition from school to work; and the sustainable management of vocational training centres, including private sector partnerships.