ILO calls for collective pact in ECOWAS

In a bid to address unemployment in the West Africa sub region, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has urged ECOWAS member countries to enter collective qualification framework pact which would serve as a guide to promote job opportunities.

Speaking at a two-day Technical Regional Workshop on National Qualification Frameworks (NQFs) in ECOWAS Region on Monday in Abuja, Director, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Mr Dennis Zulu said the unified framework would create more employment as well as equip workers with both formal and informal skills to enable them work without restrictions in ECOWAS member countries.

The National Qualification Frameworks (NQFs) is part of a new initiative to strengthen the recognition of skills and qualifications within and between ECOWAS countries, UNESCO and the ECOWAS.

Zulu said: “We have a lot of unemployed people in ECOWAS countries including Nigeria, so we need to be talking to the private sectors that state the qualification they need.

“ The private sector needs to have input in the curriculum of training institutions that want to train graduates and not the private institutions having to retrain them,’’ Zulu said.

According to him, training undergraduates while in school would bypass retraining them by the private institution that requires their services after graduation.

He said that it would also facilitate the dialogue between the private sector and training institutions on curriculum upgrade as well as accommodate training students in different vocations while still in school.

A similar regional workshop on National Certifications/ Qualifications Frameworks was held in Dakar in June to highlight the complexity of conducting certification.

Other areas discussed were: system reforms, the necessary combination of technical, conceptual and policy actions and the importance of regional cooperation as a driver of change.