RECI-FoBBIZ webinar on dual VET in West Africa: What it takes to build co-owned vocational training

by Nina Volles

On 24 March 2026, the RECI-FoBBIZ network convened an online webinar on the theme “Bridging the gap: involving the formal and informal private sectors in dual vocational training in West Africa.” The session addressed a central tension. In much of West Africa, informal learning remains the primary route into employment for young people. At the same time, economic transformation requires more structured, responsive, and forward-looking training systems. The question is how these two realities can be connected in a way that is both credible and scalable.

Paeradigms participated in the webinar as a member of the RECI-FoBBIZ network. The discussion, led by Bahoudé Touré and Sory Ibrahim Maïga, drew on extensive regional experience and remained anchored in practice throughout.

Co-ownership as a system condition

A key insight emerging from the discussion is that dual vocational training only functions when it is jointly shaped by the actors involved. As stated during the webinar, “without effective and real involvement of the private sector, dual training cannot produce satisfactory or sustainable results.” This reflects accumulated experience rather than principle.

The role of companies was framed with particular clarity. They are “both producers and consumers of skills.” This dual position shifts the logic of engagement. Enterprises are not external partners who support a public system. They are internal actors whose participation defines the system’s relevance.

This perspective is strongly reflected in the recently published DC dVET practical guide. The guide conceptualises private sector involvement as a co-developed process, structured across preparation and implementation phases, and supported by concrete tools. It moves the discussion from intention to operationalisation.

Engaging the economy as it exists

The webinar did not avoid structural constraints. Participants repeatedly pointed to the predominance of informal and small-scale enterprises and the limited structuring of collaboration between training institutions and the private sector. “The enterprises are there, but the collaboration… remains limited and not clearly structured.”

This observation is central. It suggests that the challenge is not the absence of economic actors, but the absence of mechanisms that connect them effectively to training systems.

At the same time, the discussion challenged a persistent bias. Informality was not equated with low quality. In several contributions, smaller and informal enterprises were described as offering rich, practice-based learning environments. The decisive factor lies elsewhere. “The most important is the engagement of the company.”

This shifts the focus from categorisation to selection. It calls for identifying enterprises that are willing and able to contribute to training, and for supporting them accordingly. The guide reflects this through its emphasis on mapping, categorising, and selecting actors based on relevance and potential, rather than formal status alone.

Workplace learning as a critical leverage point

A second, more technical, insight concerns the quality of learning in the workplace. The effectiveness of alternance depends on the capacity of companies to act as learning environments.

The webinar highlighted a recurring gap. “The system relies on tutors in companies, but they are not necessarily trainers.” This has direct implications for learning outcomes. Without pedagogical support, workplace training risks becoming observational rather than formative.

The guide addresses this through its focus on strengthening private sector capacity, including organisational and pedagogical dimensions. This is a critical shift. It recognises that quality in dual VET is not secured through curricula alone, but through the conditions under which learning takes place.

The role of intermediary structures

The discussion also underscored the importance of intermediary actors. Professional associations, chambers, and sector organisations are expected to facilitate coordination between training institutions and enterprises. In practice, their capacity and representativeness remain uneven.

Participants described a gradual approach to this challenge. “We started at the micro level… then moved to associations and higher-level structures.” This reflects a pathway from direct engagement with individual firms towards more structured forms of coordination.

The guide gives this level of the system a clear place. It highlights the role of meso-level actors in organising dialogue, supporting companies, and enabling scale. Without such structures, collaboration remains fragmented and difficult to sustain.

Financing beyond the project cycle

The question of financing was addressed with notable clarity. Many current approaches rely on public funding or external projects. While these can initiate change, they do not in themselves create durable systems.

As one contribution put it, “a project can support, but it cannot define the business model of an enterprise.” This distinction is important. It points to the need for financing mechanisms that align with company realities and allow for progressive ownership.

The guide reflects this by emphasising sustainable financing pathways and the gradual involvement of private sector actors in funding training-related activities.

From alignment to system building

Taken together, the webinar points towards a more grounded understanding of dual VET in West Africa. The issue is less about adopting a specific model and more about building alignment between actors who jointly shape the system.

For Paeradigms, this resonates strongly with ongoing work on institutional transformation. Co-ownership emerges as a system condition. It underpins relevance, supports continuity, and creates the basis for adaptation over time.

The RECI-FoBBIZ webinar articulated these dynamics with clarity. The DC dVET practical guide provides a structured entry point for those seeking to translate them into practice.

You can access the guide here: www.dcdualvet.org – look for “Guide pratique pour l’implication du secteur privé dans la formation professionnelle de type dual”.