Ethiopia is expanding its technical and vocational education and training system to produce a skilled workforce capable of meeting the needs of both domestic and international labor markets, Labor and Skills Minister Muferihat Kamil has said.
Muferihat made the remarks over the week-end during a graduation ceremony at the FDRE Technical and Vocational Training Institute (TVTI) in Addis Ababa.
She said technical and vocational education was critical to Ethiopia’s development, noting that recent reforms had strengthened the sector in areas including research, education, technology transfer and the development of skills parks.
The minister said additional skills parks and training infrastructure were being developed to equip graduates with practical skills that would enable them to compete in international labor markets.
Addressing the graduates, Muferihat encouraged them to focus not only on finding employment but also on creating jobs, stressing perseverance, discipline, hard work and patriotism as important qualities for success.
TVTI Director General Biruk Kedir said 1,898 students graduated in various professional programs. He said the institution had introduced new regular and short-term training programs to improve the quality and relevance of technical and vocational education, while also pursuing partnerships with international institutions to promote practical training, skills development, knowledge transfer and technology incubation.
The institute is also collaborating with private-sector organizations to provide training in areas including fashion and other industries.