Strengthening skills governance and strategic support to Sector Skills Councils

Egypt is undertaking a comprehensive reform of its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system with the support of the European Training Foundation (ETF) to make the country more responsive to labour market needs and support economic development goals.  

Partners  

At the beginning of 2026, the ETF and the European Union Delegation to Egypt signed a contribution agreement to implement the project “Strengthening skills governance and strategic support to Sector Skills Councils”. Actions implemented by the ETF are done so in close cooperation with the European Union Delegation to Egypt, supporting the EU-Egypt Talent Partnership and contributing to the EU4YES programme. EU4YES aims to improve young people's employability through TVET opportunities and to support skills development for labour market needs, particularly in the context of the green and digital transitions.

Egypt’s reform of TVET sector

The overall reform direction remains valid. Important progress has been achieved in several areas, including competency-based curricula, partnerships with the private sector, Applied Technology Schools (ATSs), work-based learning, governance reforms and institutional development. However, challenges remain around the need for stronger consolidation, coordination, implementation steering, monitoring and policy learning mechanisms as the reform moves from piloting and expansion towards greater system maturity, scale and sustainability.

The European Union has been supporting Egypt in the reform implementation, including rolling out of its new Technical Education Strategy (2026-2031). The strategy aims to build a technical education system that equips learners with the skills required by Egypt’s economy, is trusted by learners, families and employers, and contributes to competitiveness, employment, inclusion and Egypt Vision 2030.

It is organised around six strategic pillars: 

1. System restructuring and quality standards to ensure clear structure, reliable quality assurance, accreditation readiness and system steering.
2. Effectiveness and labour market alignment by keeping curricula, assessment and skills provision aligned with current and future labour market needs.
3. Institutional capacity, teachers and educational leaders supported by building the capacity of the people and institutions that deliver reform.
4. Educational systems through private sector partnerships and strengthening employer partnerships, work-based learning and the effective use of technical education resources.
5. Image, internationalisation and international partnerships supported by strengthening public trust, perception, credibility, recognition and openness inside and outside Egypt.
6. Digital transformation, R&D and technological infrastructure improvement, ensuring schools and centres have modern facilities, digital capacity and innovation links to local industries. 

Project objectives

The objective of the project is to enable two important components of the current reform processes in Egypt. One component is the support of the operationalisation of the Sector Skills Councils and the second is the implementation of the new Technical Education strategy. Both will also contribute to supports provided through the EU4YES programme, jointly funded by the European Union and support the implementation of the EU-Egypt Talent Partnership. The following are the specific objectives of the project:

1. Operationalising and strengthening the governance and implementation of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) in Egypt.
2. Developing and institutionalising implementation plans for Egypt’s Technical Education Strategy across its 6 pillars.
3. Ensuring the coherence, coordination and technical integration of national skills development reforms within the EU4YES framework, in addition to synergies and connections with other EU-funded programmes 

Key activities

To advance these objectives, the ETF is developing a set of complementary activities and tools. These include:

Strengthening Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) across three priority sectors

The project will support SSCs, which will be established in three priority sectors (tourism and hospitality, renewable energy and chemicals). The ETF will deliver capacity-building sessions, conduct structured technical coaching and support development of both occupational standards and sector reports.

Supporting the Technical Education Strategy

The ETF will develop implementation plans for Egypt’s Technical Education Strategy across its 6 pillars and monitoring framework with the aim to improve evidence-based policymaking. This will be accomplished through clear and accessible communication with policymakers, partners and stakeholders, detailing the methodology and sequencing for the revised strategic pillars.  

Monitoring the evolving social perception of technical education  

The ETF will provide methodological support to the preparation of the first national survey on the social perception of technical education in Egypt. The survey will aim to provide a baseline for how technical education is perceived by learners, families, employers and society. It will also serve as a model for using data more strategically to monitor implementation, guide communication and support evidence-based decision making.

Content monitoring of EU4YES

The project will provide analytical feedback on the quality, coherence and reform orientation of the EU4YES programme. The ETF will facilitate the integration of the Technical Education strategy with other national reform initiatives such as the National Qualifications Framework, the quality assurance system led by ETQAAN, and the revision of Egypt’s occupational classification system (ENOC).  

The ETF will also offer continued technical advice to the EU Delegation in Egypt, providing evidence-based input into ongoing policy dialogue, steering committees, and monitoring reports. The ETF will also play an important role in ensuring coherence and complementarity with other initiatives that are being implemented within the same reform agenda.