Enhancing TVET curricula and programs for Internally Displaced People and Refugees in Sudan

The Nuffic Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) has awarded a Tailor Made Training+ (TMT+) grant to Maastricht School of Management to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development (MoLSD) and its partners to enhance relevancy, provision and management of TVET curricula and programs for Internally Displaced People (IDP) and Refugees.

With the support of industry experts MSM will help develop MoLSD and its partners to economically empower IDPs and refugees among their host communities by improving their ability to find employment or establish and grow their business through expanding and improving market oriented, equitable and gender-balanced Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

2.1 million people in Sudan live in displacement
The project interchangeably correspondents to the issues Sudan is facing in the fields of migration, development, peace and security. Protracted displacement is widespread in Sudan, the result of two major civil wars and the Darfur conflict. There were 2.1 million people living in displacement in the country as of the end of 2019, of which the overarching majority in Darfur. Ongoing violence, particularly in Darfur, and disasters, predominantly flooding, also trigger significant new displacement every year. This large numbers of IDPs poses a continuous challenge to satisfying their basic needs and maintaining an adequate standard of living, and puts significant pressure on urban infrastructure.

The long duration of displacement coupled with the limited prospects for return and absence of viable rural livelihoods meant displaced and returning refugees had little opportunity other than to adopt urban lifestyles and livelihoods.

Based on this background, the transitional government recognizes that mere return, local integration or settlement of IDPs elsewhere in the country are not necessarily durable solutions and that a more integrated strategy must be adopted with options that are feasible, viable and enduring. The Government also recognizes the need to invest in meaningful capacity building of IDPs and refugees through training and education and recognized qualifications. A valuable tool in this regard is Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

How this TMT+ will help IDPs and refugees through enhancing TVETS
Through Education, IDPs and also refugees are able to see themselves as agents of change; by investing in the minds and capacities of refugees, we are investing in individuals who will either return to rebuild and transform civil society in a post-conflict nation or integrate and contribute to the workforce of the host community via meaningful and sustainable employment.

This TMT+ will contribute to this effort by supporting improved organizational and  institutional capacity of MoLSD in placing policy frameworks, roadmaps and instruments aimed at enhancing the relevance and delivery of TVET training and services to IDPs and refugees and improving partnerships and  engagement of state and local institutes, private sector actors, social enterprise and TVET institutions.

The TMT+ will also support MoLSD and its partners in acquiring the skills needed for mapping and identifying what TVET programs are actually needed and the potential livelihood opportunities, resources and limitations within the selected context. A third component of the project involves the establishment of an information platform which facilitates access to TVET and facilitates technology-based education interventions that contribute to learning in places where teachers are scarce. As statistics show that the displaced population is youthful, the TMT+ also includes a component dedicated to youth and women to create integrated response and expedite socio-economic integration.

Project management
The project will be directed by Bob van der Bijl and managed by Antonella Anastasi of MSM.

Orange Knowledge Programme
This project is part of the Orange Knowledge Programme of Nuffic and will run from Sep 2020 until March 2022. For more information about the OKP please click here.

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