Designing Apprenticeships: A Guidance Note for Practitioners and Policy-makers in Africa

This guidance note supports policy-makers and practitioners in strengthening apprenticeship systems in ways that are grounded in local realities and aligned with broader development objectives.

Building on ILO's Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation, 2023 (No. 208), and drawing on evidence from six African countries : Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. The note offers practical orientation on key design dimensions: from defining occupational profiles and curricula, to supporting work-based learning, structuring off-the-job training components, and designing credible assessment and recognition mechanisms.

The guidance note recognises the coexistence of formal and informal apprenticeship systems and emphasises that progress towards quality apprenticeships is best achieved through gradual, context-sensitive improvements grounded in social dialogue.