Four speakers seated on a stage participate in a panel discussion at the SASASNET conference

ILO and partners back Africa's push to put apprenticeships at the centre of its decent work agenda

Ministers, employers, workers and skills practitioners from across Africa gathered in Abuja to accelerate the transition from informal apprenticeships to quality, recognised skills pathways.

4 June 2026

Panelists discuss strategies for strengthening apprenticeship systems and skills development across Africa during a high-level conference session

ABUJA – Over 250 participants gathered in Abuja, Nigeria, from 2 to 4 June 2026 for the 3rd Annual Regional Conference of the Sub-Saharan Africa Skills and Apprenticeship Stakeholders Network (SASASNET). Co-hosted by SASASNET, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the ILO, with support from the World Bank-funded IDEAS Project and Nigeria’s National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and with the active participation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), African Union, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Expertise France, Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN) Network of African Training Funds and Institutions (RAFPRO : Réseau Africain des Fonds et Institutions de Formation Professionnelle) the conference focused on one clear goal: moving from policy declarations to concrete action on improving the quality of apprenticeships in Africa’s informal economy for transitions to formality.

A conference participant addresses fellow delegates seated in a discussion circle while attendees listen and take notes
Delegates exchange experiences and recommendations on improving apprenticeship systems during an interactive conference session in Abuja

From commitment to action

Building on the 2025 Mombasa Declaration, the conference closed with the unanimous adoption of the "Abuja II Statement of Action": a landmark communiqué that goes beyond aspirations. Governments, employers, workers' organisations and development partners committed to ten concrete action areas: strengthening policy and governance frameworks, increasing public investment in apprenticeship systems, expanding quality assurance and certification, promoting recognition of prior learning (RPL), integrating entrepreneurship into training pathways, deepening industry engagement, harnessing digital transformation, advancing gender equality and inclusion, facilitating regional skills mobility, and building accountability mechanisms.

A high-level ministerial session on policy frameworks and financing, moderated by Dr. Keiko Takei, Chief Education Analyst at the AfDB, brought together government representatives from Nigeria, Kenya and Liberia, who called for regulatory and financing frameworks to match the scale and economic importance of informal apprenticeships.

Quality apprenticeship systems must become a central pillar of national skills development strategies

Peter Ogwang Ogwal, Chief Health Analyst at the African Development Bank

Evidence that apprenticeships deliver

The conference highlighted proven models from across the continent: in Kenya, the Propel A dual apprenticeship model achieved 99% pass rates and 80% employment on completion; in Côte d’Ivoire, a dual apprenticeship programme increased graduates’ earnings by 14–20%; and in Benin, chamber-based end-of-apprenticeship exams awarded formal qualifications to around 150,000 informal apprentices in 2024–25. These are replicable models and scaling them was at the heart of the Abuja agenda.