There are some assignments that can only be successfully completed because of expertise and years of experience 'on the ground'. And I have carried out such an assignment in South Sudan: developing a National TVET Apprenticeship Guideline for South Sudan!
From the beginning of 2012 I have been active in capacity building projects in (secondary) vocational education in South Sudan. At the beginning of 2016, I emigrated to South Sudan to set up the Academy for Professional Development Ltd (AforPD). During a stay of almost 5 years I have been involved in developing & conducting training, specialized in retraining teachers who work in TVET. As a member of the National TVET Adhoc Committee, I had the opportunity to discuss how TVET in South Sudan could be further developed.
The background in which my assignment took place? The complexity of the (security) situation in the country, the fact that 21 different departments of different ministries have vocational education in their policies, the lack of knowledge of ministries employees in general and the lack of TVET teachers in particular. Add to this all international organizations that want to contribute 'something' to TVET and help young people find work and want to realize this in projects with a duration of 4 years. Then for the sake of convenience, I forget the 'competition' battle that exists between ministries to participate in a subsidy projects and the quality of the people who are in a position where decisions are made.
Because of my knowledge and experience in South Sudan, I (along with the AforPD team) managed to develop a National TVET Apprenticeship Guideline for South Sudan that fits the situation and can actually be applied! The 60 representatives (government, educational institutes, private sector, INGOs) approved the content of the document during a 3-day validation meeting. The document now goes to the minister of education, who will submit the document to parliament after approval.
This is one of my best results from my work in South Sudan and I am proud of it!!