From the headquarters

North Africa Experts call for Development Policies that Match Training with Employment Needs

Forum urges SADC countries to mainstream regional protocols in development plans

Issue 3, 15 - 31 May 2009

North Africa Experts call for Development Policies that Match Training with Employment Needs

Human resource development ought to be the key element of poverty reduction policies and strategies, according to officials who met in Rabat, Morocco recently within the framework of the North African Intergovernmental Committee of Experts.

In a series of wide-ranging recommendations of the 24th session of the expert group meeting, participants urged African countries to step up efforts in the area of professional training.

“Capacity building in the domain of education and training is the best way to cope with the challenges posed by the current economic crisis”, the Moroccan minister of professional training and employment said at the end of the meeting.
 
This year’s discussions focused on ways and means of adapting education systems to the needs of the labour market.
Participants also called for concerted efforts to promote cooperation and exchange of experiences between Northern Africa countries.

The diversification of partnerships was also advocated, to enable the private sector to play a greater role in the strategic development of the education system.

They emphasized the need to adopt an inclusive approach in the design and implementation of educational reforms. The committee of experts called for the establishment of a comprehensive directory of syllabuses, as well as the institution of mechanisms for qualification equivalents between states.

The Intergovernmental Committee of Experts is a subsidiary organ of the Economic Commission for Africa. It brings together experts from Member States annually to review progress in the implementation of programmes in each sub regional office of ECA, and to examine the technical documents of the sub regional office.

Participants in the Rabat meeting included senior officials responsible for finance, development and economic planning in line ministries, representatives of the private sector and civil society, as well as experts from the International Labour Organization, the World Bank and UNESCO.

Thus, intergovernmental expert group meetings foster the examination of issues that are specific to each of the five African sub-regions during the formulation of continental level political, economic and social development policies.

The ECA sub regional office for North Africa covers: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia.