MLA 1 “Building blocks for EFA: literacy, teachers and work skills”. 

The Organization will help targeted Member States to boost their functional literacy rates, design and implement effective policies and systems for training and retaining enough teachers to meet current and future demand, and assist in reforming technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems to ensure that good quality opportunities for acquiring skills for the world of work are made available to youth and adults. All three will require a particular emphasis on women: targeting adult women’s literacy skills, women teachers and TVET for women. 

Under the first core area, the Organization will therefore support some 15-20 Member States to review and develop comprehensive national TVET policies according to their needs and priorities. Capacity development will be an integral part of this work. At the same time, UNESCO will promote harmonization of partners’ interventions by systematically cooperating with relevant United Nations agencies such as the International Labour Organization, the World Bank and other partners, and by assisting Member States in coordinating all in-country partners. Other forms of cooperation, including South-South and triangular North-South-South cooperation will also be facilitated. 

Under the second core area, UNESCO will establish a technical advisory mechanism involving key partners to clarify the definition of “skills”, leading towards the identification of indicators for measuring progress. This work will be undertaken in close cooperation with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The impact of the Organization’s normative instruments in the field of TVET – the Convention on Technical and Vocational Education (1989) and the Revised Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education (2001) – will also be reviewed. 

Finally, under the third core area, UNESCO will revitalize the global UNEVOC Networks to improve information sharing and cooperation. Furthermore, standardized information on national TVET systems will be collected and made available to policy-makers. Thematic reviews on specific issues of major interest in the field of TVET, such as TVET and gender or TVET and sustainable development, will also be conducted. 

Expected result:  TVET systems reformed and capacity of Member States developed to equip youth and adults with knowledge, competences and skills for the world of work

Performance indicators 

• Number of countries having reviewed their TVET policies
  
• Level of cooperation between different partners working in the field of TVET
  
• Existence of a shared understanding of the definition of skills
  
• Number of countries using thematic reviews on TVET produced by UNESCO
  
• Number of countries with improved access to equitable opportunities for TVET for boys and girls