ACQF 2024 is the year of many important developments and innovative activities.

Read the Synthesis Report covering the ACQF-II activities from 1 April to 31 December 2024. ACQF-II contributes to the "Africa We Want".

Output 1.1: Capacity development, peer-sharing and networking: 4 continental Forums, 1 regional conference and 12 country capacity development workshops; online training programmes on monitoring & evaluation, QCP and qualifications and credentials databases, learning outcomes and RPL.

Output 2.1: Support to 11 countries in developing and implementing their comprehensive National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs), Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Credit Accumulation and Transfer Systems (CATS).

Launch of new ACQF Handbooks and Platforms:

• ACQF Policy document. 2023
• ACQF Factsheet – summary of all activities (May 2023-December 2024)
• ACQF Handbook on RPL for Practitioners (in English, French, Portuguese)
• ACQF Handbook on Micro-credentials.
• ACQF Handbook on implementation of qualifications in national catalogue (in Portuguese)
• ACQF Methodology on Common Occupational Profiles
• Platform Skills Data Focus – with: Common Occupational Profiles, Online Job Adds Analysis Dashboard, Green Skills Dashboard, Green Skills
• Webpage Qualifications and Credentials Platform (QCP)
• Webpage Referencing to ACQF
• Webpage ACQF Network

Output 3.1: The ACQF Network for sustainability of the ACQF: developed and agreed the Inception Document and prepared the launch of the Pilot Project 2025 focused on development of the organisational and legal status of the ACQF Network, and capacity development activities.

Output 3.1: Launch of the QCP (Curators’ Interface) at the ACQF 2024 Webinar on 20/12/2024. The activities, outputs and training programme of the QCP are well documented on the specific space on ACQF website. Read the full Report of QCP 2024.

Output 3.2: Referencing to ACQF: the pilot phase involved eight countries. The streamlined methodology, based on ACQF Guideline 3, was agreed with all involved countries for ease application in the pilot phase. Group 1 started referencing in August and included: Cabo Verde, Kenya, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia. Group 2 started in October and comprised three countries: Eswatini, Lesotho and Zimbabwe. The results of the referencing were presented by all involved countries at three ACQF Forums (Luanda, Nairobi and Seychelles) and peer validation presentations were discussed at the ACQF 2024 Webinar on 20 December 2024.The overview report on Referencing to ACQF shows that 7 countries meet the requirements of the 4 fundamental referencing criteria.

• Output 3.3 RPL Campaign: The importance of RPL in African countries is well demonstrated and a number of countries have done consistent work to develop, start and expand implementation and reach out to beneficiaries in different demographics to support their access to RPL services. In 2023-2024 ACQF-II continued and enhanced activities directly contributing to expand knowledge of RPL concepts, policies and practices, and to develop RPL policies at national level. The essential results related to the RPL Campaign are:
  1. RPL as a major theme in all ACQF-II networking and capacity development programmes and ACQF Forums.
  2. Development and publication of the new comprehensive Handbook for RPL Practitioners (in English, French and Portuguese).
  3. Special RPL Forum, held in Nairobi, 1-4/Oct 2024, with large number of participants onsite and online.
  4. Research on RPL: continental survey – 28 countries responded. Analytical report and summary report accessible on ACQF website.
  5. RPL Policy documents developed with 3 countries: Eswatini, Ghana and Somalia. In development: Sierra Leone.

• Output 3.4 Common profiles of qualifications / occupations – data driven approach

  

Skills Data Focus is a new platform on ACQF website, which hosts dashboards and data visualisation tools.

Notably:

• Common skills profiles of occupations: a new tool developed for ACQF-II
• Online Job Adds Analysis
• Green skills dashboard

The Methodology of ACQF Common Occupation Profiles presents the scope, goals, data sources, analytics and selection of occupations for the comparative analysis. In 2024 the project created common profiles for 20 occupations, accessible though the interactive dashboard “Common occupation profiles”. In 2025 additional 20 profiles will be created and added to the dashboard. The data on the dashboard is updated regularly in tune with the methodology of online job vacancy data production system.

Green Skills – Green ACQF: prepared for launch of the new Pilot Project, implemented with All-Africa Students’ Union (AASU). New webspaces: on Green Skills dedicated to knowledge-sharing on the subject; and Green Dashboard (analysis of labour market demand for green skills).