The document discusses the Belgian Common TVET Support Program which works with the Rwandan Workforce Development Authority (WDA) to provide vocational skills training to youth in southern Rwanda. The program supports several vocational training centers by constructing facilities, equipping laboratories, developing curricula, and building instructor capacity. It focuses on high-demand skills like construction, agriculture, and hospitality. Officials say the program helps develop skills for national development and economic growth by making graduates more employable or able to start their own businesses. At Mpanda Vocational Training Center, student enrollment and courses offered have greatly increased with support from the program.

1. Toolkit
Celebrating International
Youth Day
By Grace Mugoya
I
n a bid to empower youth
through creating favorable
conditions to allow them
participate in the development
of their respective countries and
the World in general as well as
improve their lives, the United
Nations declared 12 August as the
International Youth Day.
This day has been marked since 1999
with the key message of encouraging
UN member states, international
organizations and the public to
understand and play significant
roles in helping to overcome
challenges the youth are faced with.
In Rwanda, the Belgian Common
TVET Support Program (PAFP)
through the Workforce Development
Authority is effectively contributing
to empowering the youth especially
in the Southern Province.
The support programme started
operating in the country in 2010.
This Programme combines efforts
with Flemish Association for
Development Cooperation and
Technical Assistance (VVOB);
which is a non-profit organisation
that implements development
programmes in the education sector,
the Association for the Promotion
of Education and Training Abroad
(APEFE) and Belgium Development
Agency (BTC) that provides funds
and Technical support in the
Workforce Development Authority.
Officials say that the programme is
an effective mechanism of building
capacity of the youth especially
for the rural population through
providing skills that will contribute
towards national development.
“ThemainfocusofPAFPisqualitative
improvement of TVET with special
attention to courses that will speed-
up development for this country as
well as giving the young generation
ability to favorably compete on the
job market with the regional and
international counterparts,” says
Wybe Van Halsema, the programme
Country Manager.
The courses given special
attention by Programme include;
Construction, Hospitality, Tourism,
Agro-Food Processing, Agriculture,
Veterinary and Forestry. To ensure
that the programme achieves its
mission, much support has been
given in construction of schools and
equipping laboratories.
These schools have been equipped
with high quality laboratory
equipments or tools that help
students engage in practical lessons.
The technical support and funds
extended to WDA is a pool from the
three organizations.
This, Halsema says, is aimed at
supporting the government achieve
Vision 2020 as well as the Economic
Development Poverty Reduction
Strategy (EDPRS) which is a five
year government programme aimed
at fighting poverty to contribute
towards government goal of
transforming the country into a
middle income class.
Supporting in
curriculum development
As part of the Belgian Common TVET
Support Program in supporting
WDA, direct involvement in the
designing of theTVET curriculum
has been a major input.
WDA came up with the strategy of
harmonizing curriculum in TVET to
ensure a standard education system
that will produce highly qualified
human resource to suit demand of
the national and regional labour
market.
In addition to producing a
competitive breed of skilled youths
to the labour market, Halsema
says graduates from technical and
vocational institutes are groomed
into creating their own jobs.
Belgian Common TVET Support Program
Working with WDA to
build vocational skills
in Southern Province
A construction trainee working on the training site-Mpanda VTC
Wybe Van Halsema-Delegate for
Co-Management at PAFP

2. Toolkit
Celebrating International
Youth Day
“It is not about starting big, but
starting small and gradually
growing big with time.
Sometimes it’s hard but it’s
possible; that is the reason some
youth have been successful in
coming up with something to do
and later employ others in their
small and medium companies,”
he says.
With research-based evidence,
the program considers market
demand as far as human resource
is concerned to have an input in
the development of the TVET
curriculum. Officials say this has
gradually helped in producing
competent labour with available
job opportunities in the market.
PAFP builds capacity at various
levels of WDA as well as
supporting development of the
Integrated Polytechnic Regional
Center (IPRC) South through
the Research based action. The
findings are thereby shared with
WDA for further consideration so
as to improve on the activities in
areas identified to be wanting.
The Project’s Technical Assistant
in charge of Infrastructure,
Thierry Niyibizi, says the project
is supporting the government to
realize its mission of producing
more job makers than seekers.
Competence of students is the
main focus of the programme.
This is done through creating
favorable environment where
they can have practical skills and
later translate them into bankable
ideas and businesses.
“After studies, students are
expected to come on site where
they are given practical skills
so as to build their competence
in applying their skills; this has
played a great role in enabling
students win good jobs and
easily adopt to the labour market
requirements once they begin
working,” he says.
He notes that since the number
of girls embracing TVET is still
low, the programme is targeting
to increase this number through
various initiatives that has seen
many young women embrace
construction activities in the
schools being supported.
Some of the schools include
Vocational Training Centres of
Kamabuye, Kabutare, Mpanda
and Kavumu. These vocational
schools are mainly training
students in; agriculture and
animal husbandry, construction,
tailoring, and welding among
others.
Niyibizi says the program is
striving towards increasing and
improving the TVET education
standards in rural areas.
Mpanda Vocational
Training Center (VTC)
Established in 1972 under the
Ministry of Defense as a training
facility for army officers before it
was turned into a TVET school
in 1984, this is one of the schools
being supported by PAFP. The
school started with the capacity
to offer only two courses. These
include tailoring and carpentry.
Located in Byimana Sector in
Ruhango district, southern
province, the school is considered
to be one of the best training in
carpentry. Mpanda VTC was also
one of the seventeen winners
of the first round of Skills
Development Grants a support
project financed by the World
Bank. The school received Rwf
53 million to further increase
capacity of training advanced
carpentry. At least thirty seven
students have already completed
a 3 month training aimed at
upgrading their skills in furniture
making and entrepreneurship
capacity.
The school has registered
intensive growth in terms
of enrollment, number of
courses, trainers and physical
infrastructure. In 2010, the
government through WDA
and PAFP started supporting
this school. Currently, the
school’s students’ population
has increased to 488 from less
than 100 in 2010. From the two
courses that it used to offer, more
courses introduced include;
welding, carpentry, construction,
electrical installation, tailoring
and catering among others.
The school offers short courses
taking one year, an initiative
developed by WDA as an
immediate response to the urgent
need for vocational skills in
the market. Upon completion,
successful students are awarded
certificates in their respective
courses.
As an initiative to strengthen
and build capacity for the
school, PAFP has also designed
a program to build capacity for
instructors. Niyibizi urges that
having professional teachers will
significantly help in producing
competent graduates.
Gilbert Ndamage, Director of
the school, says well qualified
teachers have contributed to the
success of the school. He says that
currently, the school has twenty
seven instructors.
“The teaching experience
teachers have in any school
contributes to the performance
of the students; and this goes
hand-in-hand with team work
which they (instructors) have
demonstrated as professionals,”
he says.
“The teaching
experience teachers
have in any school
contributes to the
performance of the
students; and this
goes hand-in-hand
with team work which
they (instructors)
have demonstrated as
professionals.”
A typical Training Site at Mpanda
Students under their practicle works

3. Toolkit
Celebrating International
Youth Day
Kavumu Vocational
Training Centre (VTC)
The training centre is found in
Busasamana Sector in Nyanza
district. It started operations in
1997. The centre was supported
by United Nations Development
Programe (UNDP) and the
Russian government through
training in automobile mechanics
and driving. It started offering
other courses like automobile
electricity, car painting welding,
plumbing and machinery tools
in 1999 while ICT was started
in 2006. In 2007, VVOB (Flemish
Association for Development
Cooperation) as well as BTC
started sporting the center. The
government transformed it into
IPRC South in 2011.
Two years ago, the school got
an incubation centre with PAFP,
preparing students adopt the
culture of starting their own jobs.
Kavumu Vocational Training
Centre has 217 students, 31 staff,
and at least 30,000 students have
graduated from the vocational
school.
Francis Izabayo, the Director,
attributes the school’s success
to support from government
and PAFP. He says reports from
the tracking unit of graduates
indicate that over 60 percent of
the graduates have joined the
labour market while some are
starting their own jobs.
“Curriculum development for
vocational skills training has
been harmonised, which is such
a great idea. We are proud of
having participated in equipping
the students with such skills that
are having a direct bearing on the
development of the economy.
This defines the success of our
students and their productivity,”
he says.
To date, the center is offering
professional skills in various
courses. These include
Driving
• Category B
• Category C
• Category E
Automotive mechanics, engine
mechanics
Automotive electricity
Panel beating and painting
Welding
Plumbing
General mechanics
ICT (Computer hardware,
networking)
PAFP’s Director of Intervention,
Gédeon Rudahunga, says that for
thegovernmentanddevelopment
partners to achieve the general
objective of skills development,
there must be combined effort
based on the importance. He
says that for Vision 2020 to be
realized and hitting the target of
transforming the country into a
middle income class, the youth
must be skilled to spearhead the
process of economic and national
development.
“Like I have always said, the key
objective is to equip the youth
with technical and vocational
skills in order to increase their
competence to either create
their own jobs or even compete
favorably on the local, regional
and international job market.
We therefore committed to this,”
says Rudahunga.
Toachievethis,PAFPhasinvested
in curricula development
focusing on the Competence-
Based Training/Assessment.
This is done in collaboration with
WDA’sCurriculumDevelopment
Unit— a unit responsible for
developing all curricula, learning
or instructional materials which
includes reference books,
trainer’s manuals, manuals and
digital content to respond to
labour market needs.
The development of competence
based curricula involves different
stakeholders including
training institutions that
brings together trainers,
school managers and experts
in industries and managing
directors. This is aimed at bring
together ideas that can easily lead
to developing demand driven
curricula.
Curricula are developed in
line with Rwanda Technical
Qualification Framework (RTQF)
which has seven levels of
qualifications with seven
different awards. These include
• TVET Foundation Certificate
• TVET Basic Skills Level
• TVET Certificate i, ii and iii
• Diploma and Advance Diploma
“We also develop infrastructure
for training to take place in an
environment which is conducive,
and we provide equipment
to assure that trainees get an
opportunity to practice their
theoretical knowledge,” he adds.
Rudahunga highlights that apart
from the above, PAFP works
with the private sector to link
both pilot centers and trainees to
the labor market.
This makes it easier for
trainees in the pilot centers to
find internships, and secure
employment after their studies.
Through entrepreneurship
clubs, they (trainees) undergo
entrepreneurship skills to
introduce them to the World of
business. This is to ensure that
after their studies, they are able
to professionally translate their
ideas into bankable projects.
“We also develop infrastructure
for training to take place in an
environment which is conducive,
and we provide equipment to assure
that trainees get an opportunity to
practice their theoretical knowledge,”
TVET students in Veterinary Medicine performing sillage in at TSS Kabutare
Trainees gain all the necessary skills to succeed on the labour market
PAFP Director of Intervention awarding a certificate to a TVET Graduate at MPANDA VTC TVET Students performing the establishment of
a Forest nursery at TSS Nyabikenke