TVET and Polytechnic Centers
TVET and Polytechnic Centers
Business Model Description
Establish or acquire and operate technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and polytechnic centers offering targeted skills required by specialized industries, especially for technicians and associate professionals and specialized sectors such as telecommunication and services. The TVET and polytechnic centers operate both on the technical and managerial level and target especially rural areas. The skills set differ by industry, hence a need for tailor-made-courses to address specific demand by the industries.
Expected Impact
Prepare youths for the labour market and offer the skillset needed by industries.
How is this information gathered?
Investment opportunities with potential to contribute to sustainable development are based on country-level SDG Investor Maps.
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Case Studies
Country & Regions
- Tanzania: Countrywide
- Tanzania: Eastern Zone
- Tanzania: Lake Zone
- Tanzania: Central Zone
- Tanzania: Northern Zone
Sector Classification
Education
Development need
Significant progress has been made in expanding free primary education in Tanzania, raising primary and secondary enrolment rates and increasing investment in higher education. However, Tanzania’s Human Capital Index (HCI) remains well below the average of low and low middle income countries. Access to education is highly unequal, and a lack of qualified teachers undermines learning outcomes (1).
Policy priority
Tanzania's government is committed to develop and maintain a skilled and competitive workforce through increasing enrolment of age-appropriate children; construction of classrooms and teacher allocation to keep pace with the rapid increase, and the incorporation of digital learning and teaching (2, 4, 30).
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
The ratio in primary and lower secondary schools for girls to boys is about 1:1, while in upper secondary and higher education it is 1:2. This shows a decreasing trend for the progression of girls from one level to the other. Although drop out affects both boys and girls, girls have a greater possibility for leaving school prematurely (3).
Investment opportunities introduction
Tanzania has one of the world’s fastest growing young people’s population. Of the estimated 60 million people, more than 50% are under 18 and over 70% are under 30. Tanzania requires means of educating these large numbers of young people, which offers engagement opportunities (6, 7).
Key bottlenecks introduction
Despite important gains in primary enrolment, learning outcomes remain broadly unchanged. The distribution of educational opportunities is highly unequal, and a lack of qualified teachers undermines education quality (5).
Education Infrastructure
Development need
Tanzania faces a serious gap between the skills the economy needs and the skills the education system delivers. To meet the Development Vision 2025, a significant effort is needed to provide Tanzania’s youthful population with the expertise and experience needed to drive development and achieve personal aspirations for secure and well‐paid jobs (3).
Policy priority
Tanzania's government seeks to strengthen technical and vocational education and training (TVET) oriented towards the world of work and addressing the real needs of labour markets (4, 10).
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
Although TVET and general education increases male and female earnings significantly, the returns to TVET and general education are substantially higher for females. Women's’ skills training and education hence helps to address gender earnings inequality (8).
Investment opportunities introduction
TVET opportunities exist in ICT, agriculture, automobile, aviation and technician level skills that reflect up to date industry demand for new heavy-duty equipment in the construction industry, technicians in oil and gas engineering, electrical hydropower engineering, mining engineering and advanced technology in architecture using modelling programs (9).
Key bottlenecks introduction
There is persistent disconnect between the market demands and the skills sets of many of the TVET graduates. 75% of TVET centers are concentrated in urban settings, leaving marginal training opportunities in the rural areas, where 80% of the population resides, often lacking the basic skills for supporting livelihoods (10, 11).
Pipeline Opportunity
TVET and Polytechnic Centers
Establish or acquire and operate technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and polytechnic centers offering targeted skills required by specialized industries, especially for technicians and associate professionals and specialized sectors such as telecommunication and services. The TVET and polytechnic centers operate both on the technical and managerial level and target especially rural areas. The skills set differ by industry, hence a need for tailor-made-courses to address specific demand by the industries.
Business Case
Market Size and Environment
< USD 50 million
> 25%
1 million students projected to be enrolled in vocation training centers in 2025/26
The government spends an average of USD 51 million per year on technical and vocational education and training. The expenditure has grown by a CAGR of 35% in 2016-2021. Students' enrolment in technical institutions in 2015/2016 - 2019/2020 grew from 78,912 to 320,143 (9, 15). Students enrolled in vocational training centres is projected at 1 million in 2025/2026 (4).
Skills in short supply include transports and logistics, architecture, hospitality and tourism, ICT, energy and minerals, agribusiness. There is also demand for technicians and associate professionals, such as metallurgical technicians, metal production process controllers, chemical engineering technicians and chemical process plant controllers (9, 11).
Indicative Return
> 25%
An analysis of technical and managerial skills development programme for women entrepreneurs engaged in manufacturing and distributing cleaner cookstoves technology indicates a return on investment of 115.9% (13).
Investment Timeframe
Short Term (0–5 years)
An analysis of technical and managerial skills development programme for women entrepreneurs engaged in manufacturing and distributing cleaner cookstoves technology establishes that it takes at least two years for such projects to break even (13).
Ticket Size
USD 500,000 - USD 1 million
Market Risks & Scale Obstacles
Market - Highly Regulated
Market - High Level of Competition
Impact Case
Sustainable Development Need
800,000 young Tanzanians enter the labour market per year. 85% of the workforce is low-skilled and 12% is medium-skilled. Their employability is low because due to a mismatch with the skills required by industries (18, 21).
The education system in Tanzania has a number of gaps in responding to the demands of the market. Gaps exists in the ability to learn and adapt, ability to listen and communicate effectively and think creatively and solve problems independently. There is a big mismatch between the education offered and skills demanded in the labour market (16, 17, 31).
Gender & Marginalisation
"Tanzania has high rates of youth unemployment at 6.5% among those aged 15 to 24 and 9.9% among those aged 15 to 35. Despite the recent growth fuelled by emerging sectors such as telecommunications and financial services, Tanzanian youth are failing to find a foothold in this new economy due to gaps in education, skills and experience. This means that the economic growth is not keeping pace with the number and quality of jobs needed for the country’s large and growing youth population (33)."
Overall, women and youth entry into labour markets is hindered by a dearth of effective vocational and technical training programs and a lack of information channels to connect employers and job-seekers. With a domestic labour force that is projected to reach 45 million by 2030, Tanzania must address the challenges faced by the most vulnerable groups in accessing decent jobs. Generating new and more productive jobs for the vulnerable groups will be critical to promoting equity, securing their livelihoods while enhancing Tanzania’s economic development (10, 33).
The ability of TVET institutions to accommodate learners from disadvantageous groups including those from rural locations or with disabilities is still very low. On average, these institutions can take on only 3% of the eligible candidates. Furthermore, 75% of TVET institutions are concentrated in urban settings, leaving marginal training opportunities in the rural areas, where 80% of the population resides (10, 33).
Expected Development Outcome
TVET and polytechnic centers prepare young Tanzanians for a professional career. The delivery system is well placed to train a skilled and entrepreneurial workforce (17). TVET courses are practical and provide opportunities for formal employment (11).
TVET and polytechnic centers equip students with requisite skills demanded in the labour market. In addition, graduates are able to communicate effectively, think creatively and solve problems independently (17, 33).
Gender & Marginalisation
TVET training and general education in Tanzania increase male and female earnings significantly. However, the returns to TVET and general education are substantially higher for women, supporting women in obtaining formal employment (19).
TVET training increases opportunities for women, youth and other marginal groups, including people with disabilities, to access decent jobs which can subsequently secure their livelihoods (10, 33).
Primary SDGs addressed
4.3.1 Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex
4.6.1 Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex
4.4.1 Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill
Average annual number of students enrolled in vocational training centres estimated at 320,143 in 2020/21. Number of students placed under apprenticeship training at workplaces (annually) estimated at 745 in 2020/21 (4).
Improve examination pass rate in mathematics estimated at 20% in 2020/21 (4).
Population covered by at least an LTE / WiMAX mobile network (85.4%), percentage of individuals using the internet, by urban/rural area (33.8%), population covered by a mobile-cellular network (89.6%) and population covered by at least a 3G mobile network (94.3%) (39).
Average annual number of students enrolled in vocational training centres projected at 1,000,000 in 2025/26. Number of students placed under apprenticeship training at workplaces (annually) projected at 5,000 in 2025/26 (4).
Improve examination pass rate in mathematics estimated at 25% in 2025/26 (4).
N/A
8.3.1 Proportion of informal employment in total employment, by sector and sex
8.6.1 Proportion of youth (aged 15–24 years) not in education, employment or training
Estimated at 90.8% (40).
Estimated at 14.9% (40).
N/A
N/A
Secondary SDGs addressed
Directly impacted stakeholders
People
Gender inequality and/or marginalization
Corporates
Public sector
Indirectly impacted stakeholders
People
Gender inequality and/or marginalization
Planet
Corporates
Outcome Risks
A limited pool of qualified teaching staff with requisite skills in new and emerging technologies or specialized emerging sectors, such as telecommunications, digital services and financial services, may necessitate outsourcing, which can result in unaffordable service provision (10, 33).
Competing priorities with other sectors of the economy and other education sub-sectors may result in low and/or irregular inflow of financial resources to TVET centers, which is liable to threaten its contribution to economic development (10).
Impact Risks
Weak placement services for trainees may limit the expected impact, and inadequate tracer studies may offer challenges in confirming the relevance of the offered trainings (17).
If the centers rely on traditional training delivery, rather than considering tailor-made courses, and do not adapt to the needs of the informal sector, the expected impact may be limited (17).
Impact Classification
What
TVET and polytechnic centers provide the skillset needed by industries and prepare the workforce for productive professional engagements.
Who
Youths entering the labour market and enterprises in various industries benefit from TVET and polytechnic centers.
Risk
While the model of TVET and polytechnic centers is proven, complementary services, data availability, and orientation towards informal sector requirements require consideration.
Impact Thesis
Prepare youths for the labour market and offer the skillset needed by industries.
Enabling Environment
Policy Environment
Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development Programme, 2013, 2018: Recognises the role of TVET in the provision of skills. It seeks to implement a TVET program that will support economic growth, alleviate poverty through wealth creation and facilitate the achievement of the Vision 2025 through supply of quality technical experts in both the public and private sectors (10).
National Employment Policy, 2008: Recognizes the need for human resources development opportunities for the acquisition of demand-driven skills and competencies for wage and self-employment system (22).
Education and Training Policy, 1995: Emphasizes the importance of apprenticeship training as an alternative cost-effective training system, urging employers to provide apprenticeship training opportunities for a larger proportion of the labour force (21).
National Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Policy, 2003: Recognizes SMEs as a significant sector in employment creation, income generation, poverty reduction and as a base for industrial development (23).
Financial Environment
Financial incentives: Through the Skills Development Fund (Window 3), the government supports public and private TVET centers to train low skilled workers through basic foundational and pre-employment certificate programmes (36).
Fiscal incentives: Tanzania offers import duty and VAT exemption on deemed capital goods, including building materials, utility vehicles and equipment. The incentive applies for the TVET centres particularly when bringing in building materials for construction and rehabilitation as well as vehicles and technical equipment’s (28).
Other incentives: The World Bank has invested USD 230 million in vocational education in Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia under the East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration (EASTRIP) programme. The investment aims at improving training and research capabilities and delivery of quality TVET education (35).
Regulatory Environment
Vocational Training Act, 1974: Establishes a dual training system based on a one to two years of institutional basic training followed by two to three years of apprenticeship training in industry (24).
Vocational Education and Training Act, 1994: Address the challenges arising from the introduction of market economy in Tanzania by the creation of a Vocational Education and Training Board, the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Fund (25).
NACTE Act, 1997: Provides a legal framework to establish an efficient National Qualifications Framework that will ensure that products from technical institutions are of high quality and respond to changing needs of Tanzania as well as technological advancements in the world (26).
Public Private Act, 2010: Was enacted as an opportunity for more effective contribution of TVET to the socio-economic development of the country. The legislation allows private sector to provide TVET through public-private partnership arrangements as well as in the expansion of TVET infrastructure (10, 34).
Marketplace Participants
Private Sector
Rhino Technical Secondary School & VTC, Tegeta Vocational Training Centre (TVTC), Art In Tanzania, ETA Kipawa - ICT Center, Arizona Vocational Training Centre.
Government
Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA), Vocational Education and Training Board, National Council for Technical Education (NACTE), Morogoro Vocational Teachers Training College (MVTTC)..
Multilaterals
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), World Bank Group (WBG), African Development Bank (AfDB).
Non-Profit
Youth for Africa (YOA), Tanzania Youth Vision Association (TYVA), Karibu Tanzania Organization, Tanzania Social Support Foundation, Swisscontact Tanzania.
Public-Private Partnership
Tuwapende Watoto Vocational Training Center, which offers two-year vocational training courses for tailors, horticulture, bakers/food production, electricians, electronic technicians, plumber, hairdressing/beauty and ICT.
Target Locations
Tanzania: Countrywide
Tanzania: Eastern Zone
Tanzania: Lake Zone
Tanzania: Central Zone
Tanzania: Northern Zone
References
- (1) World Bank, 2021. Tanzania Economic Update. Raising the Bar for Achieving Tanzania’s Development Vision.
- (2) United Republic of Tanzania, 2016. National Skills Development Strategy.
- (3) World Bank, 2015. World Bank’s Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER). Workforce Development, Country Report.
- (4) United Republic of Tanzania, 2021. Third National Five-Year Plan (FYDP 3).
- (5) The World Bank, 2021. Tanzania Economic Update.
- (6) United Nations Childrens Fund, 2018. Young People Engagement: A priority for Tanzania.
- (7) The British Council, 2016. Tanzania’s Next Generation Youth Voices.
- (8) C. Joseph, 2019. Gender Differential Effects of Technical and Vocational Training: Empirical Evidence for Tanzania.
- (9) National Council for Technical Education, 2020. Mapping Skills Gap and Skills Needs for Technician Graduates in The Selected Economic Sectors for Industrial Growth In Tanzania.
- (10) United Republic of Tanzania, Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, 2013. Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development Programme.
- (11) Mulongo et al, 2016. Determinants for Positioning and Promoting TVET in Tanzania: Information for Developing a Marketing Strategy.
- (12) National Council for Technical Education, 2020. Mapping Skills Gap and Skills Needs for Technician Graduates in The Selected Economic Sectors for Industrial Growth in Tanzania.
- (13) Winrock International, 2017. Evaluating the Return on Investment (ROI) for an “Empowered Entrepreneur Training” in Tanzania.
- (14) Rhino Technical Secondary School & VTC, 2022. https://www.zoomtanzania.com/company/rhino-technical-secondary-school-vtc.
- (15) United Republic of Tanzania, 2021. TVET Indicators Report.
- (16) The University of Witwatersrand, 2016. Determinants for Positioning and Promoting TVET In Tanzania: Information for Developing a Marketing Strategy.
- (17) Manyanga et al, 2010. Relevance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to market demands: Skills for Employability.
- (18) International Labour Organisation, 2019. State of Skills in Tanzania.
- (19) Vincent Leyaro et al, 2019. Gender Differential Effects of Technical and Vocational Training: Empirical Evidence for Tanzania.
- (20) World Bank, 2015. SABER Country Report. Tanzania Workforce Development.
- (21) United Republic of Tanzania, 1995. The Education and Training Policy.
- (22) United Republic of Tanzania, 2008. The National Employment Policy (NEP).
- (23) United Republic of Tanzania, 2003. The National Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Policy.
- (24) United Republic of Tanzania, 1994. Vocational Education and Training Act.
- (25) United Republic of Tanzania, 1974. The Vocational Education and Training Act.
- (26) United Republic of Tanzania, 1997. The National Council for Technical Education (NACTE Act).
- (27) AfDB, 2022. https://projectsportal.afdb.org/dataportal/VProject/show/P-TZ-IAD-001.
- (28) United Republic of Tanzania, 2022. Standard Incentives for Investors. https://investment-guide.eac.int.
- (29) VETA/GIZ, 2000. Vocational Education and Training by Government in Tanzania.
- (30) United Republic of Tanzania, 2016. Education Sector Development Plan.
- (31) UNSTATS Hub, 2022. https://country-profiles.unstatshub.org/tza#goal-8.
- (32) SHU, 2022. https://www2.shu.ac.uk/PDAN/tanzanian_food_security_and_health.html.
- (33) Tanzania Horticulture Association, 2020. Industry Position Paper.
- (34) USAID, 2022. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TZWN.pdf.
- (35) International Trade Centre, 2018. Trademap Database. https://www.trademap.org/Index.aspx.
- (36) Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), 2022. https://sagcot.co.tz/index.php/en/about/who-we-are.