Skills Move Us: Technical training Grows Communities

What's different this time is the model. Instead of one-off industry placements, BEAR III institutionalizes work-based learning: curricula co-designed with employers, joint teacher-employer supervision, and standards set by employers with assessment running throughout the training, not just at the end.

That shift is already visible on the ground. In Côte d'Ivoire, TVET training has helped women set up their own beauty businesses, learning skills from manicures to hairdressing. One woman, who now runs her own beauty parlour, put it simply: "I carried on because I believed in myself and my vision. That helped me, but above all, the training helped me — and I am very grateful for it."