Tunisia 2023

Key takeaways

VET in Tunisia performs well in terms of accessibility and attractiveness. Young learners are more drawn to VET compared to their international peers, and adults actively pursue continuing vocational education and training (CVET) for skill development and socio-economic advancement. However, access to VET is more limited for certain groups, such as the unemployed, and success rates—like graduation and progression to higher levels—remain low. Additionally, learners may find that the VET pathway they have chosen is quite rigid, making it difficult to transition to academic or general education pathways or switch between different learning tracks.

In some areas, the quality and relevance of learning in Tunisia’s VET system is comparable to other countries, but there are also significant gaps. Young learners, in particular, lack key skills like language and communication, while adults tend to demonstrate stronger essential skills. Although Tunisia has a tradition of work-based learning, the alignment of VET with labour market demands is only average. As a result, while many VET graduates find employment, their skills may not match their jobs.

Tunisia’s VET system faces some challenges regarding its management and organisation, mainly due to a lack of reliable data. Its results are not as strong in areas like participatory governance, public accountability, and quality assurance. Limited stakeholder involvement and resource constraints contribute to these issues. Despite some strength in the professional capacity of school leaders and despite efforts at internationalisation, VET struggles with inadequate financial and human resources and poor infrastructure. Tunisian authorities acknowledge these challenges and stress the need for comprehensive reform, particularly in the public financing of VET.

Access to learning

Monitoring in the area of access to and participation to learning helps countries assess the extent to which initial VET, continuing VET and other learning opportunities are accessible and attractive to all learners, regardless of their individual backgrounds or reasons for participating. The data also reflects how well learners can expect to progress through and graduate from these learning opportunities.

Opportunities for lifelong learning: access and participation

VET in Tunisia performs well in terms of accessibility and attractiveness, both for initial vocational education (IVET) and CVET. Young learners find VET somewhat more appealing than their peers in other countries, and adult learners are particularly eager to engage in CVET. This interest is driven by the desire of those employed to update their skills and improve their socio-economic opportunities through practical, hands-on learning.

However, access to learning opportunities is much weaker for certain groups, such as the unemployed. Access to alternative learning avenues, such as those provided through active labour market policies, is also limited. Additionally, while access to VET is relatively easy, success rates are low. Graduation rates remain below expectations, progression to higher education is limited, and dropout rates are high.

Once enrolled in VET, learners often find their chosen pathway rigid and difficult to navigate. Although there are legal provisions to promote flexibility between VET and general education, transitioning between vocational and academic pathways remains challenging. This difficulty is due to delays in implementing key reforms, such as the introduction of a vocational baccalaureate, which was still not operational at the time of monitoring.

Many of the issues seem to stem from persistent challenges in implementing key policy plans. Overall, while Tunisia’s VET system is accessible and attractive, there are challenges in progression, flexibility, and policy implementation which hinder learners in VET from fully benefiting from their education and training. Addressing these issues, especially by operationalising key reforms like the vocational baccalaureate, would be crucial to improving the outcomes and future opportunities for VET learners.

The Torino Process is a regular review of national systems of vocational education and training as well as adult education. It is designed to analyse the ways in which national VET systems (including adult education) address the challenges of human capital development in a lifelong learning perspective. It was established by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2010 and has been carried out in partner countries in Southeastern Europe, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean ever since.

Monitoring in the context of the Torino Process describes the extent to which countries deliver on their commitments to learners in support of their learning through life (lifelong learning - LLL) in three major areas of policy and system performance: access to learning, quality of learning, and system organisation.

Quality of learning

Quality and relevance of learning is the area of monitoring that identifies how successfully the VET system provides basic skills and key competences to both young and adult learners. It highlights the relevance of VET programmes to the world of work and how effectively VET graduates transition into the labour market. Additionally, it monitors efforts to promote excellence across key domains, including pedagogy, professional development, programme content, governance, and social inclusion, as well as the openness of the VET system to innovation in response to the evolving needs of learners and labour markets.

Lifelong learning outcomes: quality and relevance, excellence and innovation

VET in Tunisia presents a mixed picture in terms of adaptability, flexibility, and alignment with socio-economic developments in the country. While it matches other countries in certain areas of quality and relevance, it falls behind in others. There are significant gaps in how VET equips different learner groups with key competences.

Young learners, in particular, receive subpar education in key areas like language and communication, both in international comparison and within Tunisia’s own monitoring framework. On the other hand, adult learners are more likely to possess a good level of basic skills and key competences, well above the average of other countries.

Tunisia has a strong tradition of work-based learning, yet the link between VET programmes and the labour market could be strengthened. While VET has been effective in helping graduates find employment, the system struggles to adapt to evolving societal needs and produce graduates with skills that fully match the demands of their jobs.

Tunisia also lags behind in incorporating long-term themes into its curricula, such as sustainability, green skills, and climate change awareness. These are essential for addressing societal challenges. While the system is behind in terms of the green transition, it performs slightly better than other countries when it comes to incorporating digital skills into its VET programmes.

VET in Tunisia has a strong commitment to excellence and innovation in several key areas. While challenges remain in the professional development of teachers, with outdated practices and limited training opportunities, Tunisia is focused on improving programme content and promoting social inclusion. The VET system is open to innovation, particularly in areas where learners struggle, such as participation and successful graduation. Authorities are investing in pioneering solutions to address these challenges, though the effectiveness is limited by administrative barriers and other factors. A recent law on distance learning also signals a focus on expanding access through innovative methods.VET in Tunisia has a strong commitment to excellence and innovation in several key areas. While challenges remain in the professional development of teachers, with outdated practices and limited training opportunities, Tunisia is focused on improving programme content and promoting social inclusion. The VET system is open to innovation, particularly in areas where learners struggle, such as participation and successful graduation. Authorities are investing in pioneering solutions to address these challenges, though the effectiveness is limited by administrative barriers and other factors. A recent law on distance learning also signals a focus on expanding access through innovative methods.

VET in Tunisia has strengths in some areas but faces challenges in others. While it performs well in quality and relevance, there are gaps, particularly in giving young learners key skills like language and communication. Adult learners, however, tend to have stronger basic skills, surpassing the average in other countries. Tunisia also a strong tradition of work-based learning, but VET programmes could be better aligned with labour market needs. The VET system also struggles to address long-term challenges like the green transition and sustainability, though it does slightly better in integrating digital skills. Despite these challenges, Tunisia remains committed to improving programme content and promoting social inclusion, with recent efforts like distance learning aimed at expanding access to VET and lifelong learning.

System organisation

System organisation is the area of monitoring that captures performance across various domains of management and administration. It examines whether practitioners and leaders have access to data and evidence to support informed decision-making, the level of stakeholder involvement in VET governance, the quality and capacity of staff in leadership positions, and the degree of internationalisation. Additionally, monitoring the allocation of human and financial resources to the VET system helps assess whether these resources effectively support teaching, training, and learning.

System organisation: management and resourcing

Tunisia, like many other countries in the Torino Process, struggles with a lack of reliable and comparable data for monitoring its VET system. This issue is particularly evident in tracking the effectiveness of system management and organisation. As a result, much of the evaluation relies on self-assessment by national authorities and stakeholders.

The available evidence suggests that Tunisia’s VET system underperforms compared to many other countries in the Torino Process in areas like participatory governance, public accountability, and quality assurance. Contributing factors may include insufficient stakeholder involvement, a lack of transparency, weak quality assurance mechanisms, and resource constraints. Top-down decision-making practices may also hinder more inclusive governance. On a more positive note, Tunisia demonstrates strength in the professional capacity of school leaders, though national authorities acknowledge the need for better ways to evaluate these professionals and their work.

VET in Tunisia is committed to internationalisation, though efforts remain average and largely driven by public bodies rather than VET providers themselves. The system, however, faces greater challenges in the allocation of financial and human resources. Tunisia falls well below international averages in these areas, pointing to a lack of sufficient funding, personnel, and quality staff needed for effective system management.

The country also struggles with inadequate material resources in VET, particularly in maintaining infrastructure. National authorities are aware of these issues and have emphasised the need for comprehensive reform in the public financing of the VET system to address these ongoing challenges.

VET in Tunisia faces several challenges, mainly due to a lack of reliable data to track its performance. The system struggles in areas like decision-making, accountability, and training quality, partly because of limited involvement from different stakeholders and a shortage of resources. While there are some strengths in school leadership and international cooperation, these efforts are still limited. Tunisia also faces issues with funding, staffing, and maintaining infrastructure. National authorities recognise these problems and are calling for major reforms to improve the system.

Promoting access and participation in opportunities for lifelong learning

Supporting quality and relevance of lifelong learning

Index of system performance

System performance

International comparability of performance results

In addition to messages about system performance, the Torino Process monitoring delivers information about the international comparability of results of each country, the extent to which these results may be susceptible to bias, and how self-critical a country is when it reports about its policy and system performance for external monitoring purposes. This is possible because the monitoring methodology foresees keeping accurate records about the availability, origin and type of evidence used to calculate the monitoring results for each country, including Tunisia.

A lower-than-average share of monitoring results for Tunisia lacks internationally comparable data and is based on self-assessment responses instead. This also means that these results are less internationally comparable than those of many other countries in the Torino Process and are at higher risk of subjective bias. However, Tunisia tends to be more self-critical about its VET performance than other countries, showing a stronger tendency to highlight shortcomings over successes.