The technical workshop for reviewing and harmonising occupational standards (OS) and curricula for Security services, Care giving for elderly and children, Hair dressing and Beauty services and Welding and Aluminium work concluded successfully, marking a significant step forward in enhancing the skills framework for Ethiopian potential migrant workers. The 15-day workshop was held in Adama city, Ethiopia from l 16 to 30, April 2024, and brought together 28 participants from relevant sectors, including representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Skills (MoLS), TVET colleges, industry experts, returnees, and specialists from Kenya. The primary objective was to review and harmonise OS and curricula to better prepare Ethiopian workers for both local and overseas employment.
The workshop was part of the broader efforts by the Ethiopian government, with support of the ILO's Better Regional Migration Management (BRMM) programme, to align training programs with international standards and the evolving demands of the labour market locally and overseas. This initiative is critical, given that Ethiopia is a major country of origin, transit, and destination for migrants, with over hundreds and thousands of Ethiopians migrating abroad regularly in the past 10 months in search of better job opportunities. Accordingly, the Government of Ethiopia in partnership with international organizations, such as the ILO is striving to facilitate safe, orderly and regular labour migration for these workers, ensuring that they have the required skills and that their rights and dignity are protected abroad.
The workshop was preceded by a comparability mapping exercise of Ethiopian OS with the OS of other countries1 with the aim of identifying gaps, and discrepancies compared to prevailing market dynamics and occupational standards. Based on these findings, the Ethiopian OS for the four occupations was revised and harmonised to align with other countries to ensure comparability and meet the prevailing market demand. The harmonised OS further informed the review and harmonisation of the training curricular for the target occupations. One important milestone includes the integration of pre-departure and life skills training, language skills (Arabic and English) and entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills within the OS and curricular. The participation and involvement of Kenyan experts was particularly valuable, as they shared insights and best practices from their experience with similar training programs, helping to harmonise Ethiopia's curricula with international standards.
Moving forward, the revised and harmonised curricular, will inform the development of teacher, training and learning materials (TTLM) and occupational competency assessment tools planned to take place in July 2024.
Harmonisation of skills standards, and curricular is one of the tools that facilitates comparability of education systems enabling training systems from different countries to offer comparable qualifications. As a result, if this is combined with skills development partnership, in the context of labour migration, it is possible to achieve portability of skills, competencies, and qualifications. As Ethiopia moves to position itself in the global labour market, it intends to ensure that the quality and standards of training is not only responsive to the changing local and overseas labour markets, but also comparable to other good practices countries.
As a result of the workshop, the new curricula and occupational standards are expected to significantly improve the employability of Ethiopian workers, both locally and internationally. By aligning training programs with the demands of destination countries, the workshop not only addresses immediate labour market needs but also contributes to the long-term goal of boosting economic growth and development in Ethiopia. The success of this workshop underscores the importance of collaborative efforts in enhancing skills development and promoting safe and productive migration practices.
