Kigali – Like many countries in Africa, Rwanda has many of its nationals living abroad and playing an important role in the country’s development. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recognizes diaspora engagement to effectively participate in the socioeconomic development of a country.

To realize this, IOM and the Government of Rwanda, through the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Colleges (IPRCs), are implementing the Diaspora Engagement to Support TVET in Rwanda project, through which selected Rwandan diaspora professionals will deliver a Training of Trainers (ToT) to technical trainers in priority courses at the eight IPRCs across the country. The project is funded by the Government of Belgium.

To identify the existing resource gaps in the IPRCs, a needs assessment mission was conducted in June 2019 to match priority Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) subjects with Rwandan diaspora who have a high level of TVET skills.

The Technical Working Group (TWG) which conducted the research was composed of IOM, Rwanda Polytechnic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as well as the Ministry of Education. The findings of the study will serve as a baseline to match IPRCs’ needs with skills and knowledge of the relevant diaspora professionals, residing in Belgium and Germany. 

Under the project, IOM Rwanda, in close collaboration with Rwanda Polytechnic, organized a five-day workshop from 29 July to 2 August 2019. The workshop was aimed at enhancing the capacity of government officials in migration management and diaspora engagement; reviewing the draft needs assessment report on “Understanding the Human and Institutional Resource Needs of IPRCs”; finalizing the Terms of References (ToRs) of training areas for future diaspora engagement in TVET as well as conducting a TWG Meeting to discuss the project road map and implementation plan.

Thirteen government officials drawn from eight IPRCs, Rwanda Polytechnic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Education attended the workshop.  

For further information please contact Alice Karara at IOM Rwanda, E-mail: akarara@iom.int.