ADDIS ABABA,EthiopiaAfrican Union Concludes Africa Skills Week 2025, Launching Blueprint for a Skilled and Industrialised Continent/

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION DIRECTORATE

Press Release No: 170/2025 Date: 22^nd October 2025

Venue: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

African Union Concludes Africa Skills Week 2025, Launching Blueprint for a Skilled and Industrialised Continent

The African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, successfully concluded the Second Edition of Africa Skills Week (ASW 2025) on 17 October 2025 at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The five-day event, held under the theme “Powering Africa’s Industrial Future: Skills for Innovation, Growth and Sustainability,” brought together a diverse group of participants, including Ministers, industry leaders, TVET practitioners, youth innovators, and continental partners.

The event served as a pivotal platform for dialogue and partnership-building aimed at accelerating the transformation of Africa’s education and training ecosystems to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the green, blue, and orange economies. A major highlight of the second Edition of the Africa Skills Week was the official launch of the Continental Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Strategy 2025-2034, a flagship framework for the skills revolution under Agenda 2063.

The deliberations culminated in a comprehensive Communiqué outlining collective commitments and priority actions. Member States committed to aligning national TVET policies with the Continental Strategy and pledged to ratify the Revised Addis and UNESCO Global Conventions to ease the mobility of skills and labour across the continent; Participants called for embedding foundational literacy, AI literacy, and data ethics into national education and labour policies to future-proof Africa’s workforce; Present Ministers underscored the importance of establishing Skills Development Funds and leveraging innovative financing mechanisms, including tax incentives for enterprises, to strengthen investment in training.

Moreover, Industry associations pledged to expand work-based learning, apprenticeships, and co-designed curricula with training institutions, recognizing the private sector as a critical co-creator of solutions. The Communiqué endorsed the Youth Declaration on Skills for Industrialisation and committed to ensuring equitable access to skills programmes for women, rural youth, and displaced populations.

Technical Sessions and Breakout Sessions throughout the week delved into the core pillars of Africa’s skills transformation. Discussions explored critical themes such as Digital Learning and Innovation in TVET delivery; strengthening the nexus between Skills and Industrial Competitiveness; and the imperative for Quality and Inclusion in Skills Development. Sessions were dedicated to strategies for Gender-Responsive TVET, designed to boost women’s participation in industrial sectors and STEM, and providing skills training for Refugees and Forcibly Displaced Persons.

The Africa Skills Week 2025 concluded with pitches from top 5 Innovators for the Innovating Education in Africa (IEA) 2025 program. The event showcased the Top 5 Innovators, who presented their groundbreaking solutions designed to transform Africa’s education sector. This competition recognized and rewarded the continent’s most promising educational technologies and approaches, with the top three innovations receiving financial prizes: $15,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place, and $5,000 for third place.

The AUC reaffirmed its continued commitment to implementing the outcomes of Africa Skills Week 2025, primarily through the Continental TVET Strategy 2025-2034, the operationalization of the Youth Declaration on Skills for Industrialisation, and robust partnership frameworks like the TVET Cluster. The outcomes of ASW 2025 reaffirmed Africa’s collective resolve to value, support, and empower citizens with job-creating skills—aligning directly with Agenda 2063’s Aspiration 1: A Prosperous Africa Based on Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development, and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all.

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