Algeria

LOCAL SKILLS MATTER Algeria

A study of good practice in the application of territorial governance tools to VET in Algeria, undertaken as part of the Entrepreneurial Communities initiative.

Short description:

In 2013, as part of its work on multilevel VET governance, the ETF launched its Entrepreneurial Communities initiative to identify and acknowledge local partnerships that foster skills, entrepreneurship and job creation. The goal was to explore and learn from examples in partner countries, in order to understand how these partnerships are formed, the impact they can have on communities and how they can inform VET policy.

This report describes how an informal grassroots partnership involving small farmers and animal breeders in Laghouat, a town on the edge of the Sahara, was established, and how it expanded and sustained its activities without the involvement of local authorities. The initiative’s leaders wanted to address the gap that existed between the potential of the area for agriculture and the creation of new jobs by providing the next generation of farmers with the practical knowledge, technology and background that would foster readily exploitable and employable skills.

Led by a farmers’ association, ‘El Argoub’, the partnership also involved a local VET provider, the Agriculture Department, the local Chamber of Agriculture and a Member of Parliament to achieve four main objectives:

• identify skill needs, and inform and train fellow farmers to improve their performance;

• simplify farming theories and methods for illiterate farmers;

• motivate young people through daily tasks;

• multiply contacts with other groups to widen the scope of the activities and exchange experiences.

Among its many achievements were the development of a fee-based model to sustain its activities; the development of on-farm training facilities with a local university; setting up training in organic farming and sustainable farming practices; and the establishment of a public-private partnership with the National Agency of Labour Protection in Laghouat to support the inventory and propagation of local plants.

You may read the document below and see the video here.