African EO's to launch Diploma courses

At present, many of the African DECP partner employers organisations offer short 2-3 day courses in subjects area’s such as labour law, industrial relations or HR management. Quite a number now have expressed the ambition to expand and upgrade this training offer by moving to longer high level Diploma courses in these field. So, whilst maintaining a flexible short duration training offer, add up and create with this Diploma approach, a jewel on the crown of their training offer, and also a reply to a specific need of companies to receive certified, well-structured training opportunities in industrial relations, labour law and HR management .

 DECP, in close collaboration with the Turin based Training Centre of the ILO ( ITCILO), brought all these organisations together to exchange on the different issues and challenges which are linked with such Diploma approach: which contents? which modalities such as duration, min-max hours? how to ensure that this Diploma approach is sustainable? what should be the main focus in the selling proposition of such courses? which ways for certification and branding which attract companies to participate?

 The participants also benefited strongly of exchanging with some employers organisations, such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Egypt, Ireland, which already have a large and successful experience with organizing such Diploma courses.

 Two very concrete results were already achieved: a platform (1) to deposit and exchange all relevant training material was created and activated. Instead of each inventing the wheel on his side, training material related to industrial relations and HR management, which often is similar, is now to be shared and further developed jointly. It was also agreed to offer specific support (2) to facilitate the use of e-learning in Africa, by allowing partner organisations to use the ITCILO technical platform. Furthermore we examine how to co-brand and co-certify the Diploma courses in order to increase quality insurance, visibility and credibility amongst member companies which participate.

 DECP, together with its partner ITCILO, is confident that its efforts to accompany the national organisations jointly in these training ambitions started off very well. By 2019, we expect that in quite some countries high level Diploma courses are effectively in place and running sustainably.