ILO's Africa Skills Hub

Guided by the ILO’s vision to promote social justice through decent work, the Abidjan Declaration, and the ILO’s Skills and Lifelong Learning Strategy, the Africa Skills Hub advocates for inclusive and effective skills and lifelong learning systems based on social dialogue and African-grown solutions. It is the Africa’s implementation arm of the Global Skills Programme.

Investments in skills are a top priority in African youthful societies and economies that navigate disruptions, technological and environmental changes, migration, and fragility.

To turn these investments into development dividends, they need to respond to economic realities, incite young people’s potential and career aspirations of workers, and raise productivity and innovative capacities within enterprises to create decent jobs.

Policies and strategies for education, skilling, upskilling, and reskilling need to be future-oriented and aligned with country and regional development ambitions, ultimately contributing to Agenda 2063 and SDGs 4 and 8.

Key interventions:

• Supports knowledge sharing among countries, governments, employers, and workers on systemic challenges and innovative, adapted solutions to skill African people and drive productivity and development
• Strengthens networks of skills actors on the continent to support home-grown solutions and a culture of innovation and lifelong learning
• Supports the African Union, the African Union Development Agency NEPAD, and RECS Energy Certificate Association in delivering on the goals of the Continental Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Strategy and the ILO-AU Youth Employment Strategy
• Develops knowledge products on skills and lifelong learning relevant for the continent, particularly to empower women, youth, persons with disabilities, and people in rural and informal economies
• Supports regional programmes on priority topics like digitalization, just transitions, and industrial transformation, and builds impactful partnerships
• Promotes ILO’s Recommendation on Quality Apprenticeships (No. 208), 2023, with a focus on transitions to formality

• Adibjan Declaration
• ILO’s Skills and Lifelong Learning Strategy
• Decent work results 2022-23