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Digital Skills in Technical and Vocation Training (AAP 2024 part 2)

Skills development, especially digital, technical and entrepreneurial skills, is a key driver of Ethiopia’s economic transformation, structural change and youth employment. The Technical and Vocational Training (TVT) Strategy launched in November 2025 highlights the importance of a modern, demand-responsive and digitally enabled TVT system for industrialisation, competitiveness, productivity and inclusive growth.

 

The Strategy also stresses the need to equip Ethiopia’s large youth population with labour-market relevant skills, improve the quality and relevance of TVT programmes, strengthen instructors’ skills, expand digital learning and ensure more equitable access for women and persons with disabilities. These reforms are linked to the Digital Ethiopia 2025 Strategy and the Training and Education Policy (2023).

 

From an EU perspective, the Action aligns with Global Gateway priorities on skills, digitalisation, youth empowerment, job creation and private-sector-led economic transformation. It supports digital skills, stronger links between training institutions and the private sector, innovation and entrepreneurship.

 

Within this national and EU framework, the Action aims to accelerate Ethiopia’s digital transformation by improving the quality, relevance and inclusiveness of the TVT system, with a strong focus on digital learning, digital skills and youth employability.

This is a coordinated Team Europe intervention involving the European Union, Germany and Finland in support of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labour and Skills. Overall EU support of EUR 35 million combines Financing Not Linked to Costs (FNLC) through a KfW contribution agreement for the ESHI Basket Fund, still in preparation, and a separate direct-cost contribution agreement for the DESTA project, implemented by GIZ and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, which started activities on 15 September 2025.
Digital Skills
© European Union

Overall Objective

Contribute to the EU’s goal of supporting Ethiopia’s digital transformation by strengthening the quality and relevance of the TVT system so it can respond to the skills needs of the digital economy and support digital entrepreneurship.

 

Specific Objectives (SOs)

SO1. Improve access to quality digital learning through advanced technologies and locally relevant content developed with the private sector.

SO2. Strengthen TVT trainers’ digital skills and their ability to deliver digitally enabled TVT through gender-responsive and disability-inclusive capacity building.

SO3. Strengthen young people’s market-relevant digital and entrepreneurial skills, with particular attention to female students and students with disabilities.

SO4. Improve youth employability with the private sector by strengthening links to the labour market in relevant value chains and sectors, including the digital economy.

Project Activities

1. Improved digital learning environments and access

• TVT institutions, particularly PTCs in underserved areas, have upgraded digital infrastructure and stable access to digital tools.

• Students and trainers have better access to LMS and other digital learning solutions that support high-quality learning.

• Digital learning content is available, locally adapted, aligned with curricula and co-produced with the private sector.

• Awareness and perceptions of the added value of TVET, digital learning and digital skills improve.

2. Strengthened, inclusive digital teaching workforce

• TVT trainers have stronger digital skills and competences.

• Digitally enabled training-delivery methods improve.

• Inclusive digital training programmes are developed based on analysis of gender gaps in digital skills.

3. Youth with market-relevant digital and entrepreneurial skills

• Digital, technical, soft and entrepreneurial skills are developed around high-demand sectors identified with local private-sector actors, EU and EU Member State investors, regional value chains and market trends.

• Female students receive gender-specific support to participate meaningfully in and contribute to the digital economy.

4. Stronger employability pathways and innovation ecosystems

• Private-sector partnerships, including with digital entrepreneurs, are institutionalised in TVT system design, reform and development.

• Business and start-up development is promoted and digital entrepreneurship is supported.