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Tanzania

Tanzania’s economic growth is real, powered by a youthful nation, deep agricultural roots and a dynamic informal economy, but too many people remain outside its promise. Formal jobs are scarce, vulnerable work is common, and school leavers, especially out-of-school youth and young mothers, struggle to generate income.
   
The vocational skills development system is expanding yet uneven: Market-relevant technical skills, soft skills, entrepreneurship support, employer linkages and access to finance are still not consistently available to those who need them most.
  
At Swisscontact Tanzania, we work with government, local businesses, training providers, financial institutions and other partners to build practical pathways from skills to income. Guided by our focus on inclusive and more climate-resilient economic systems, we combine holistic, market-driven vocational skills development with business development support for youth-led enterprises - supporting young people secure sustainable livelihoods. 
TANZANIA

facts and Figures

  • Area: 945,087 km²
  • Population: 66 million
  • Administrative Capital: Dodoma

Swisscontact in Tanzania

  • Since 1979

Projects

View all projects from Tanzania
2018 - 2030
Tanzania
Initial vocational education and training, Labour market insertion
Skills for Employment Tanzania (SET)
The Skills for Employment Tanzania (SET) project is a 12-year initiative that enables vulnerable young people aged 15 to 24, particularly young women and single mothers, to develop vocational skills and thereby access employment and self-employment opportunities and increase their incomes.
2026 - 2029
Tanzania
Initial vocational education and training
PropelA Tanzania – dual apprenticeships in construction for youth employability
The project aims to support Tanzanian youth in moving from informal work into decent employment in the construction sector through a dual apprenticeship model jointly led by companies, training institutions and government.
2023 - 2027
Tanzania
Initial vocational education and training, Labour market insertion
EmpowerHER through Skills
In close collaboration with the private sector and local communities, this project offers non-formal vocational skills to empower marginalized young mothers and connect them with entrepreneurial opportunities that help them access (self-) employment and generate income for themselves and their families.  

News

View all news from Tanzania
Tanzania
Initial vocational education and training, Labour market insertion
04.11.2026
She Grew Sunflowers. Now Jackline Wants to Build a Business Around Them. 
For 23-year-old Jackline, vocational training offers an opportunity to move from growing sunflower seeds to processing them into products she hopes to sell.Jackline knows how to grow sunflowers. She has been doing so on her one-acre farm in Gairo District, eastern Tanzania, as a way of earning an income.
Tanzania
Initial vocational education and training, Labour market insertion
03.11.2026
She Trained as a Hairdresser. Then Ester Found Her Voice.
Give Ester Christopher a microphone and a crowd, and she knows what to do. She hosts events in Kibaha District, Tanzania, guiding programmes, engaging guests and keeping occasions moving. 

For each assignment, she earns at least TZS 100,000 (31CHF) sometimes more. Depending on the season, she can host two or three events a month. 

It is work she loves.
Tanzania
Initial vocational education and training
29.06.2026
Building Skills for Vulnerable Youth: Insights from the Skills for Employment Forum in Tanzania
The Skills for Employment (SET) Forum brought together over 270 participants from across Tanzania’s skills ecosystem. including representatives from Folk Development Colleges, Local Government Authorities, the Morogoro Vocational Teachers Training College, VETA Kihonda, local and international NGOs, development partners, youth, private training providers and other private sector actors. The forum created a platform for networking and dialogue on how to strengthen the vocational skills development system so that it is more labour-market relevant and inclusive for vulnerable youth.
Country Director
Sabine Renggli

APPROACH

Swisscontact works in Tanzania in collaboration with the government and local actors as a facilitator in vocational skills and entrepreneurship development, supporting inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction. We focus on expanding economic opportunities for young people - particularly for youth with limited educational backgrounds and women who became mothers early in life.

To this end, we use an Inclusive Systems Development Approach to improve the technical and vocational educational and training (TVET) system and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Our approach includes 

  • Relevant, hands-on training: Labour-market analysis guides the co-development of modular, competency-based courses (e.g., in horticulture, tailoring, food processing) so youth gain skills that translate into income. We pair technical training with entrepreneurship support, financial literacy, soft skills, and post-training mentoring.
  • Stronger local institutions: We build the capacity of public and private training providers through continuing professional development and close collaboration with government, training centres, and communities to raise quality of training.
  • Stronger entrepreneurship ecosystems: We connect entrepreneurs, business support providers, financial institutions and government to strengthen collaboration and make support services more responsive to young entrepreneurs’ needs. By building local partners’ capacity and strengthening networks, we help improve access to mentoring, finance and markets beyond the life of individual projects.
  • Inclusive by design: We promote gender-sensitive, youth-centred training delivery and link graduates to start-up kits and savings groups so young people without collateral can launch and grow  enterprises.
  • Future-ready skills: We integrate green, sustainable and digital practices, such as climate-smart agriculture (e.g. drought-resistant crops) to prepare youth for a climate-resilient, digitised economy.
  • Change that lasts: We work through systems, not stand-alone projects - driving local ownership via participatory planning, and using robust monitoring (measuring employment, self-employment, income) and a market-systems lens to fix incentives, information flows, and capacity where it’s needed most.

What we do

  • We focus on market-relevant skills development: Co-design of short, practical, competence-based training in growth sectors (such as processing of agricultural products), pairing technical skills with soft, financial and entrepreneurship skills.
  • We create pathways into work and self-employment: Coaching, business start-up support, and linkages to buyers and finance (e.g., savings groups) so youth can start and grow viable micro-enterprises.
  • We support sustainable growth of youth-led businesses: We work with local training and business development service providers to strengthen access to further skills training, mentoring, markets and finance, supporting young entrepreneurs develop and grow viable businesses.
  • We strengthen the vocational skills development system: Support providers (public and non-state) to modernise curricula, to engage in continuing professional development of teachers, embed work-based learning, and use labour-market insights.
  • We advance the inclusion of women and other vulnerable groups into the economy: Tailored outreach, flexible training schedules, and wrap-around services for young mothers (mentoring, childcare) to reduce barriers to job skills training.
  • We promote private-sector partnerships: Make firms co-owners of developing the workforce - shaping skills demand, hosting apprentices, and improving productivity along value chains. Ensuring that skills development is aligned with real market needs.
  • We work in green value chains:We support young people and enterprises to access income opportunities in climate-smart and sustainable sectors, including agri-processing, circular economy and other emerging green markets.

Our team

The abilities and readiness for action of our employees are decisive for our projects’ ability to achieve sustainable impact, as well as our long-term success. As an attractive employer, Swisscontact invests in a positive management and work culture. This is defined by our fundamental understanding of development intended to serve not only our beneficiaries in project countries but our employees as well.

MEET OUR TEAM

Past Projects

Taka ni Mali - Waste is Wealth
The Taka ni Mali project contributed to adequate employment opportunities in solid waste collection and recycling, while reducing environmental degradation and health risks through efficient and sustainable solid waste management systems.
Achieving impact worldwide
The objective of Swisscontact’s work is to open up pathways out of poverty for people in developing countries through broad-based economic development projects.

Motivated and productive employees with initiative constitute the most important success factor in all areas of our work. We count on motivated individuals who are looking to the future, impact- and team-oriented, and want to work in international development cooperation.

Contact

Swisscontact Tanzania, Morogoro Office

Plot no. 105, Pamba Street

P.O. Box 48, Morogoro 

+255 765 459 916  

Swisscontact Tanzania, Dar es Salaam Office

Alfa Plaza, 6th Floor, Chabruma St

P.O. Box 106038, Dar es Salaam

+255 725 234 203

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