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Skills for Employment Tanzania (angl.)

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.
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Morogoro, Tanzania
-6.8277556
37.6591144
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Iringa, Tanzania
-7.768059
35.6860723
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Dar es Salaam
-6.8165054
39.2894367
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Pwani
-7.323771400000001
38.8205454
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Tanga
39.1022029
Tanzanie
Durée du projet
2018 - 2030
Financé par
  • Direction du développement et de la coopération DDC

During its third phase, from mid-2026 to mid-2030, SET strengthens the relevance and effectiveness of the non-formal vocational skills development system in the Morogoro and Iringa regions. The project supports training providers to combine market-relevant vocational training with entrepreneurship and business development services. Particular attention is given to reaching vulnerable groups, promoting gender equality and strengthening young people’s resilience to the effects of climate change.

The project

SET works with national and local government, training providers, businesses and civil society organisations to complement government efforts to economically empower young people. Swisscontact acts as a facilitator, connecting and strengthening key actors within the non-formal vocational skills development system.

The project works through three interconnected pillars:

  • Building a stronger training ecosystem: SET builds networks through which trainers can develop their skills, learn from one another and improve the quality and relevance of vocational training. A knowledge hub provides access to curricula, trainer guides and other practical tools.
  • Improving access to market-relevant training: SET facilitates access to practical, market-driven vocational skills training delivered by private and public training providers. We combine training with start-up support so that young people can enter the job market or launch their own small businesses.
  • Building stronger youth-led business support services: SET facilitates targeted upskilling and business development support for young entrepreneurs so they can enhance their business performance and employ others.

Project partners

  • The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (member of the Project Steering Committee)
  • The Prime Minister’s Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (member of the Project Steering Committee)
  • Public and private training providers
  • Business development support organisations
  • Companies
  • Professional organisations
  • Local non-governmental organisations and development partners

Expected Results Phase III (2026 - 2030)

  • 5 250 vulnerable young people, including 60% young women and 10% single mothers, get access to gender-sensitive non-formal vocational skills training that enables them to secure gainful economic opportunities while strengthening their climate change resilience and access to finance.
  • 900 young entrepreneurs participate in additional skills training (upskilling) and get access to business development support services.
  • 200 trainers from public and private training providers learn from each other and exchange good practices on non-formal vocational skills development in Morogoro and Iringa.
  • An additional 30,200 people benefit indirectly through project activities as household members of training graduates, people trained or employed by graduates, or students enrolled in programmes taught by capacitated trainers.

Results phases I & II – Building on proven experiences

Phase I: August 2018 to June 2022

During its first phase, SET strengthened Tanzania’s vocational skills development system, particularly in Morogoro. The project strengthened training providers and supported the Morogoro Vocational Teachers Training College to improve its teaching methods and approaches as the college trains vocational teachers from across Tanzania.

  • SET supported 17 labour market assessments and related studies. These helped the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) revise 11 vocational skills curricula to better respond to labour market needs.
  • SET worked with training providers in Morogoro to offer 17 vocational skills courses to 6 733 young people. Women made up 58% of participants, while single mothers accounted for 19%.
  • SET worked with the Morogoro Vocational Teachers Training College to develop eight teacher-training modules and pilot them with 156 students.

Phase II: July 2022 to June 2026

During its second phase, SET continued to improve young people’s prospects for gainful employment and self-employment by strengthening the relevance, quality and accessibility of vocational skills development. The project expanded its work from Morogoro to Iringa and supported Folk Development Colleges, which reach rural communities in Tanzania, to improve the quality of their offer.

  • SET worked with 16 NGOs, 11 companies and one public institution to offer 83 vocational skills courses to 10 915 young people affected by poverty in Morogoro and Iringa. Women made up 74% of participants, while single mothers accounted for 38%. The unemployment rate among participating youth decreased from 84% to 28%.
  • SET facilitated 12 labour market analyses and worked with training providers and the private sector to develop ten market-relevant curricula and trainer guidelines. The curricula cover fish farming, feedlot management, poultry farming, cookery, baking, hairdressing, crispy snacks, spices, horticulture and fruit-tree nurseries.
  • SET supported the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to develop a digital administration system for Folk Development Colleges. The system allows the Ministry to track learning outcomes and make better-informed steering decisions.
  • SET supported the development of a continuing professional development model that reached 492 staff members from 23 Folk Development Colleges.