The International TVET Conference 2026: A Melting Pot for Skills That Work

Africa’s ambition to industrialise sustainably rests, in significant measure, on its ability to develop human capital that can build, operate, adapt and improve productive systems. This is central to the aspirations of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet the question is not whether young people are being trained. It is whether the skills they acquire can respond to real opportunities, create value and contribute to productive economies.

The International TVET Conference 2026, held in Nairobi from 9–11 September under the theme “Skills That Work: Advancing Industry-TVET Collaboration for Sustainable Skills and Global Competitiveness,” provided a timely platform for that conversation. Organised by Kenya’s Ministry of Education through the State Department for TVET, with support from the Governments of Germany, Finland and the Republic of Korea and technical support from GIZ, the conference brought together government, industry, TVET institutions, development partners and international experts.

At the centre of this conversation was a principle that captures an important shift in TVET thinking: training FROM industry, WITH industry and FOR industry.

Training FROM industry recognises the workplace as an important source of intelligence about changing technologies, production systems and emerging sector skills needs. Training WITH industry moves beyond consultation to partnership, bringing employers into the shaping and delivery of learning. Training FOR industry asks the ultimate question: can training translate into employment, enterprise, productivity and competitiveness?

The discussions gave substance to this framework. A plenary on aligning TVET with jobs, labour markets and industrial transformation explored how skills systems can respond to economic needs. Another brought industry voices directly into the conversation on skills gaps, workplace-based training, productivity, incentives and long-term partnership models. The key message, employers cannot remain merely end-users of graduates; they have an important role in shaping the skills pipeline.

Kenya’s experience with dual training offered a practical illustration. Under the model adapted to the Kenyan context, over 50 per cent of training is undertaken in industry and the remainder in the institution. The value lies not merely in the numbers, but in bringing learners closer to real equipment, production systems and workplace expectations.

The conference also demonstrated that the future of skills is broader than employability alone. Conversations on green skills and climate-smart TVET, digital skills and technology integration, trainer development, sustainable financing, recognition of prior learning and lifelong learning pointed to the need for skills systems that can continuously adapt. The exhibition added another dimension, showcasing technologies, student innovations, products and practical solutions emerging from interaction between training institutions and the world of work.

International participation made the Nairobi gathering a genuine learning space. Perspectives from Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, the Republic of Korea, Finland, Germany and other partners showed that countries may face similar skills challenges while requiring different solutions. The lesson is not to copy another country’s model, but to learn what works, understand why it works and adapt it to context. This emphasis on learning, adaptation and scaling was explicitly reflected in the conference programme and opening address.

Perhaps the strongest lesson from the conference is that partnership requires intentionality. Companies need a reason to participate; institutions need mechanisms to sustain collaboration; trainers need exposure to evolving technologies; learners need pathways from learning to work; and governments and partners need enabling frameworks. The German perspective particularly underscored that industry participation must be supported by incentives and a value proposition, especially for SMEs.

This is where the idea of skills that work becomes more than a conference theme. It becomes a test for the skills ecosystem itself.

A skill works when it moves beyond certification into capability; when capability contributes to production, innovation and enterprise; and when those outcomes create opportunities for people and value for economies.

The Nairobi conference may therefore be best understood not as an endpoint, but as a meeting point, a melting pot where policy, practice, industry experience, international learning and innovation came together. The task now is to take what works from that conversation, deepen the partnerships, and turn ideas into sustained action.

For Kenya and Africa, the question is progressively not how many people we can train, but how effectively the skills we develop can help build the economies we aspire to create.