With the Africa Skills Week (ASW) 2025 theme “Powering Africa’s Industrial Future,” ASW highlighted the reforms and partnerships needed to strengthen skills systems for industrial growth, innovation, and sustainability.

The newly adopted Continental TVET Strategy recognises ACQF in its chapter on strengthening the foundations of TVET development - affirming ACQF’s essential role in promoting trust, comparability, and coherence across national and regional qualifications systems.

A dedicated ACQF session - “The African Continental Qualifications Framework in action” -explored how strong quality assurance, regional cooperation, mobility pathways, and inclusion (including recognition for informal and youth learners) can support Africa’s industrial transformation. The panel discussion, moderated by the ACQF-II project coordinator, Maria Rosenstock (ETF), featured distinguished members of the ACQF Network:

• Dr. Makhapa Makhafola, Chief Operating Officer, South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
• Mr. Vincent Koech, Deputy Director for NQF & National Qualifications Database, Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA)
• Dr. Amarech Kebede Mekonnen, Researcher and EQF focal person, Ethiopian Ministry of Education
• Mr. Abdifitah Mohamed, Education Sector Coordinator, Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education, Somalia

The panellists summarised the progress achieved under the ACQF-II project and reflected on lessons from mature and emerging NQF systems, as well as the value of peer learning within the ACQF Network.

South Africa highlighted the importance of trust, robust systems, and continental platforms like the ACQF and SADC in enabling mobility and recognition.

Kenya emphasised how an aligned qualifications framework strengthens relevance of training and supports inclusion. It offered lessons from its work within the regional economic communities (EAC and IGAD) on building interconnected skills ecosystems.

Ethiopia shared how ACQF peer learning and capacity building are influencing its TVET reforms, improving quality, and supporting greater inclusion and recognition.

Somalia, at the beginning of its NQF journey, reflected on the practical value of ACQF guidance for system-building, especially for recognising informally acquired skills, and outlined priorities for continued cooperation as it develops its national qualifications structures.

ACQF’s active engagement at ASW 2025 reaffirmed its strategic contribution to building a coherent, trusted, and future-oriented skills ecosystem for Africa.