Addis Ababa, 10 May 2019 - The European Union signed an agreement with German International Cooperation Agency in support of the African Union's “Skills Initiative for Africa” programme with the aim to train youth in Africa in skills and vocation training.
The Euro 8 million grant to the Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) Programme was signed with the presence of Mrs. Anna Burylo, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to the African Union and Mr. Tobias Gerster (Head of Department in GIZ) and Dr. Inge Baumgarten (Director GIZ AU Office). The signing was witnessed by the CEO of AUDA-NEPAD Dr. Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki. In their speeches all parties appreciated this important step which is extending the current SIFA project from an AU-German into a multi-donor Initiative.
Mr. Gerster pointed out that the German government highly welcomes that the European Union and Germany are joining forces to support AUDA-NEPAD in this important initiative. Mr. Guenter Nooke underlined: "In the end it is private companies, start-ups, service providers which will generate the needed jobs for the young people on the continent. With this initiative we want to strengthen the cooperation between the private sector, government institutions and TVET providers to come up with innovative ideas for high-quality training which is at high demand on the labour market."
