Egypt 2023
Key takeaways
The VET system in Egypt is effective in providing access to initial vocational education (IVET), supported by the introduction of specialised educational models and the creation of Technological Universities. However, there is still room to improve access to continuing VET (CVET) and to other opportunities for lifelong learning beyond VET. Learners of all ages, particularly those from vulnerable backgrounds, can expect to progress from one level of VET to another or switch between different educational programmes or training opportunities with relative ease, at reduced risk of dropout.
Acquiring key skills and competences presents challenges across all age groups in VET; however, adults tend to face more difficulties than youth. Many students redirected from general secondary education due to low scores lack basic skills, highlighting the need to integrate literacy and numeracy into curricula. Nevertheless, youth skill levels in IVET slightly exceed the international average, indicating a potential upward trend. Still, a mismatch persists between the skills taught and labour market needs. This contributes to the challenge of 'educated unemployment' and underscores the need for better career guidance and efforts to bridge the gap between education and work.
The monitoring results indicate a mixed performance in how the VET system in Egypt is organized. Public accountability and reliable quality assurance are strong points, but decision-making processes in VET could benefit from stronger stakeholder involvement and better evidence. There is also a need to provide more opportunities for professionals and students to engage internationally with their peers. The results also highlight an urgent need to reassess VET spending levels and resource allocation. Current funding sources, including state support, and the quality of materials they provide, may not always be sufficient.
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.
However, like many other countries, Egypt faces challenges in expanding access to CVET and other opportunities for lifelong learning. While there is a wide range of free CVET programs available through governmental providers, their appeal varies, with private and NGO programs often seen as more attractive due to better quality and job prospects, even though they are less accessible due to capacity and cost.
Initiatives like the 'work system' program, which allows students to balance work with education, and reforms to the Labour System scheme, aim to reduce dropout rates and provide better career guidance, helping students stay engaged in their education and training.
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.
To improve outcomes, Egypt has introduced competency-based curricula and established the Egyptian TVET Quality Assurance and Accreditation National Authority (ETQAAN), which is responsible for ensuring that programs meet industry standards. However, many students entering the VET system have weak basic skills, emphasizing the need to integrate literacy and numeracy into vocational training to address gaps in prior learning.
Efforts to address these issues include the creation of School to Work Transition Units and the introduction of career guidance as a graded subject. While the VET system of Egypt is increasingly incorporating digitalisation into curricula, more work is needed to address green transition challenges. Initiatives such as "Green and Smart" schools and dual education models are steps in the right direction, but continuous updates and alignment with labour market demands remain crucial.
Egypt has made notable progress in improving access to VET for youth and aligning its programs with industry standards. However, significant challenges remain, particularly in supporting access for adult learners and enhancing the employability of VET graduates. The introduction of competency-based curricula and the establishment of ETQAAN are positive steps, but issues like weak basic skills among students and a mismatch between taught skills and labour market needs still persist and pose a risk to progress. To make VET more effective, Egypt should keep improving its programs, focus on teaching essential skills, and better match training with the needs of the job market of today, particularly in areas like digitalization and green technologies.
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.
However, Egypt faces challenges in making evidence-based decisions due to limited data comparability with international standards. Despite using national data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) to guide VET reforms, concerns remain about the accuracy and reliability of this data.
Leadership in VET system is relatively strong, supported by well-developed career progression pathways and targeted training programs. However, significant weaknesses exist in the areas of internationalization and the availability of human and financial resources. Indeed, funding for VET is a critical issue. Despite multiple funding sources, the overall resources are insufficient to meet needs. Additionally, a freeze on public sector recruitment has led to staff shortages, impacting the quality of training.
The VET system in Egypt has a mix of strengths and challenges in the domain of system organisation. While robust mechanisms are in place to safeguard transparency and quality, data limitations hinder the capacity for evidence-informed decisions. Stakeholder participation in VET governance could be improved, and the availability of human and financial resources requires attention. Efforts to address these issues include partnerships with employers to hire and train educators, as well as new educational models like the dual system and Applied Technology Schools (ATS), which involve the private sector in providing funding and enhancing the quality of education.
Promoting access and participation in opportunities for lifelong learning
Supporting quality and relevance of lifelong learning
Index of 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 Egypt.
Among the countries included in the 2023 Torino Process monitoring, Egypt is in the bottom quarter when it comes to how its monitoring results compare internationally. This suggests that there is a significant shortage of internationally comparable information on the performance of VET and other lifelong learning systems in the country. Additionally, the monitoring results of Egypt are at significant risk of bias, as most of them are based on self-assessment responses due to the lack of international data. Despite that, Egypt tends to self-appraise the performance of its VET system in a rather neutral way, delivering neither too complimentary nor too self-critical self-assessment scores.