The East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP) is a five-year project funded by the World Bank and the Governments of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania to increase access and improve quality of technical-vocational education and training (TVET) programs in selected Regional Flagship TVET Institutes (RFTIs). The project targets regional priority sectors with acute shortage and mismatch of specialised TVET skills particularly in transport, energy, manufacturing & agro-processing and information and communications technologies.

The Project has three components

1. Strengthening selected Regional Flagship TVET Institutes for high quality skills development in priority sectors;
2. Creating national TVET enabling environments through strengthening national TVET quality assurance, capacity building for TVET policy development and implementation;
3. Promoting regional integration and enhancing regional collaboration in TVET and project coordination through harmonisation of standards and mutual recognition of qualifications for priority occupations.

The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) - the Regional Facilitation Unit (RFU) coordinates the harmonisation of TVET qualifications frameworks, occupational standards and curriculum in EASTRIP priority occupations. The expected deliverables are a Regional TVET Qualifications Framework and at least ten regionally harmonised occupational standards for selected occupations. The harmonization process aims at supporting integration policies in EAC - implementation of EAC regional integration goals of customs union, common market protocol, monetary union, and political federation.

A Harmonised Qualification Framework will be critical in the development and classification of qualifications according to prescribed standards and learning outcomes, regardless of when, how and where these outcomes were acquired. The Framework will guide effective comparability of qualifications and credit across the EASTRIP benefiting Countries’ (Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania) education training systems and facilitate the recognition of those qualifications within and outside the individual country’s borders.

A joint initiative between EAC and the IUCEA is working to include four other EAC member States namely Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda that are not part of the EASTRIP initiative.

The harmonization process is all inclusive and stakeholder driven comprising Technical Working Group (TWG) on Harmonization of TVET Qualifications Framework and Occupational Standards was appointed by the IUCEA, the EASTRIP Regional Facilitating Unit (RFU). The TWG comprises technical officers from the three benefiting countries, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania; Cadena International from the Netherlands is providing technical support to the work with the TWG.