During the China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit, the 2024 Annual Meeting of the China-Africa Vocational Education Consortium, co-hosted by the China Education Association for International Exchange and the African Association of Technical and Vocational Universities and Colleges, was successfully held in Beijing. The meeting was attended and addressed by Wu Yan, a member of the Leading Party Group and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, Liu Limin, President of the China Education Association for International Exchange, Jean-Laurent Sisamagel, Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Technological Innovation of the Central African Republic, and Gesus Melly Jarrah, Minister of Education of the Republic of Liberia. Over 150 representatives from governments, schools, and enterprises from 14 countries in China and Africa attended the meeting. The school's Vice President, Jiang Lijun, was invited to attend and signed a cooperation agreement with the Tanzania Vocational Training Agency.
In his speech, Vice Minister Wu Yan pointed out that, in recent years, under the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, China-Africa vocational education cooperation has continued to improve in quality and upgrade. Looking to the future, China-Africa vocational education should further enrich the content of cooperation, build cooperation platforms, and contribute new and greater strength to the China-Africa partnership in advancing six modernizations and constructing a new era of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future. President Liu Limin emphasized that the association places vocational education cooperation with Africa as a top global strategic priority, focusing on well-building the China-Africa Vocational Education Consortium, effectively implementing the future-oriented Africa-China Vocational Education Cooperation Plan initiated by heads of state, and actively promoting practical cooperation and mutual learning in China-Africa vocational education.
Yang Jun, Secretary-General of the China Education Association for International Exchange, on behalf of the Chinese secretariat of the China-Africa Vocational Education Consortium, delivered a work report and released the vocational skills certification standards jointly constructed by China and Africa, covering 60 occupations across 10 major disciplines, including machinery, information technology, and agriculture. Our school actively participated in the development and construction of certification standards and international teaching resources in fields such as food testing and information technology.
During the meeting, teachers from the International Exchange and Cooperation Center of the school and representatives from partner institutions in Tanzania had in-depth discussions on several themes, including the talent needs for Africa's development, the complementarity of China-Africa vocational education, and the pathways for China-Africa vocational education cooperation. Consensus was reached on promoting long-term and short-term academic exchanges between faculty and students, strengthening professional development and capacity-building project cooperation, jointly organizing international conferences and training activities, and exploring the provision of both credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing courses.
From October 7th to 9th, following his visit to Beijing, Mabel Paul, principal of Arusha College under the Tanzania Vocational Training Agency, a sister institution of our school, visited our campus for exchanges. Wang Chunqing, a member of the school’s Party Committee and Director of the Office, attended the meeting and discussed the implementation of relevant cooperation projects with the visiting guests.
In her speech, Wang Chunqing introduced the history of the school's development, educational achievements, and the current state and accomplishments of internationalization efforts. She emphasized that the school highly values China-Africa vocational education cooperation and hopes to enhance technical skills and the training of high-quality technical talents by sharing ideas, jointly developing standards, building resources together, and co-training teachers, thus contributing to the development of vocational education in both China and Tanzania.
Principal Mabel Paul expressed gratitude for the warm reception and the efforts made by our school in advancing China-Africa vocational education cooperation. He looked forward to furthering collaboration with the Tanzania Vocational Training Agency in areas such as mutual visits between teachers and students, curriculum development, academic discussions, and teacher-student training, aiming to comprehensively enhance vocational and technical education in Tanzania and produce more collaborative results.
During his visit, Principal Mabel Paul also toured our Digital Craftsman Academy, the comprehensive training base for Biological and Food Technology, and visited several partner enterprises, gaining an in-depth understanding of the achievements in professional construction and governance models at our school.
The China-Africa Vocational Education Consortium was established on May 11, 2022, and currently has 85 member institutions, including 33 African educational organizations and institutions. This annual meeting was the only supporting event in the field of China-Africa vocational education held during the Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum. The Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027) of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum proposes that China will continue to implement the Future Africa-China Vocational Education Cooperation Plan, build high-level Luban Workshops with African countries, add more disciplines, and carry out engineering and technical education programs. Guided by the spirit of the 2024 China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit, our school will actively engage in the construction of the China-Africa vocational education community through the platform of the China-Africa Vocational Education Consortium, contributing to China-Africa friendship, win-win cooperation, and common development.
