The online platform – “Africa’s Platform for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship” (ASPYEE) is a continental platform for knowledge exchange and private sector engagement in skills development.

The portal focuses on scaling up on the areas of:

Africa entered the new millennium with high levels of youth unemployment and severe education challenges at every level. To cope with these challenges, African leaders have reiterated the need to increase access to education, improve quality and relevance, and ensure equity.Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) forms part of this pledge to advance education and employment across the continent, especially with a focus on equipping young people with the required skills to enter and effectively perform in the job market through specialised technical training.

As part of the African Union’s Second Decade of Education (2006-2015), the continental TVET strategy takes account of concrete recommendations to address policy issues, challenges and gaps that constrain the implementation of initiatives and programmes for skills development on the continent. It highlights TVET as a response to foster skills development and youth employment. In January 2016, African Heads of State and Government also adopted the continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25) to deliver better education standards, increase higher levels of quality employment and scale up entrepreneurship and innovation.

In support of this pledge, the African Union Commission, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), KfW and GIZ financed through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) developed the Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA). The Initiative aims to promote the occupational propsects of young Africans through the support of skills development programmes and close cooperation.