165/25 Industrial Skills Week Africa (ISWA) 2025 to Align Skills with Africa's Industrial Future #ISWA2025
Posted 1 month ago
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The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD), in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Zambia, is convening the Industrial Skills Week Africa (ISWA) from 9-10 September 2025 at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, Zambia. The event is set to serve as a continental platform to accelerate dialogue, partnerships, and action around the role of skills in powering Africa’s industrial transformation.
With Africa’s working-age population projected to reach over 1 billion by 2035, the continent stands at a pivotal moment to harness this demographic dividend through inclusive, industry-aligned skills development. However, a growing mismatch between labour market needs and available skills continues to limit productivity, innovation, and employment in key sectors such as manufacturing, mining, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, and green industries.
The ISWA 2025 responds to this challenge by rallying public and private sector actors around a shared agenda: equipping Africa’s workforce with the skills needed to drive sustainable industrial growth. The theme, “Powering Africa’s Industrial Future: Skills for Innovation, Growth, and Sustainability,” reinforces the continent’s commitment to building a competitive, future-ready workforce in line with Agenda 2063 and Zambia’s 8th National Development Plan.
ISWA is a joint platform that will:
- Showcase innovations linking TVET to employment and entrepreneurship
- Promote labour market intelligence and future skills forecasting
- Foster youth and women’s participation in industrial transformation
- Elevate Zambia’s leadership in demand-driven, inclusive TVET reform
Speaking ahead of the event, Ms. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, remarked:
“The industrial transformation of Africa cannot happen without transforming how we prepare our people, especially our youth, for the jobs of tomorrow. ISWA will offer a space for real solutions, real partnerships, and real commitments toward a skills-led development pathway for the continent.”
Zambia’s Ministry of Technology and Science, through its implementation agency TEVETA, is playing a central role in convening stakeholders across the TVET ecosystem, including industry leaders, government departments, youth networks, and training institutions. The event will include technical sessions, policy dialogues, sectoral roundtables, innovation exhibitions, and site visits to local training centres and industries.
“Zambia is proud to host the first Industrial Skills Week Africa,” said Hon. Felix Mutati, Minister of Technology and Science. “This is a moment to shine a light on Zambia’s youth, our training institutions, and the incredible innovations happening across the continent. We hope ISWA sets the tone for future engagement that centres African skills as the backbone of African industry.”
AUDA-NEPAD and the Government of Zambia call on all stakeholders; government ministries, the private sector, regional organisations, youth-led networks, training institutions, and development partners, to join this collective effort to build Africa’s industrial skills ecosystem.
