Young man operating a welding machine

Sudan is home to a resilient and ambitious generation of young people with the potential to contribute to the country's social and economic recovery. Youth Skills Sudan is a British Council programme designed to help young people turn their skills, knowledge and ambition into meaningful economic opportunities.

The programme brings together Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Non-Formal Education (NFE) to create more accessible and flexible pathways to employment, enterprise, further learning and formal recognition of skills. It is designed around a simple principle: skills development should lead somewhere. 

Young people in Sudan face multiple barriers to education, skills development and decent work. Conflict and displacement have disrupted formal education and training systems, while many people have developed valuable skills through work and informal learning without having formal certification.

At the same time, links between training providers and employers remain limited, and young people can struggle to access the coaching, networks, finance and market opportunities they need to turn skills into sustainable livelihoods. 

Youth Skills responds to these challenges by recognising that training alone is not enough. Sudan needs a stronger skills ecosystem in which young people can develop relevant skills, connect those skills to real economic opportunities and have their existing competencies recognised. 

Our approach

Youth Skills connects different parts of the skills and employment journey, creating pathways that can help young people move from learning to livelihoods.

  • Technical and vocational skills: Supporting practical, market-relevant skills that respond to the needs of young people, employers and growing areas of the economy.
  • Digital and entrepreneurial skills: Building the digital, business and entrepreneurial capabilities young people need to navigate a changing economy, develop ideas and pursue self-employment.
  • Employment and work-based learning: Strengthening connections between young people and employers through work-readiness, workplace learning, career pathways and opportunities to gain practical experience.
  • Recognition of skills: Supporting pathways through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) so that people who have developed skills through work or informal learning can have their competencies assessed and formally recognised. 
  • Industry partnerships: Bringing employers, industry bodies and training providers together to ensure that skills development is informed by labour-market needs and can lead to real employment and enterprise opportunities.
  • Changing perceptions of skills and TVET: Using communications and media campaigns to raise awareness of the value of technical and vocational education, challenge misconceptions about skills development and promote positive perceptions of TVET among young people, families, employers and communities. This supports the programme's wider ambition to strengthen the role and visibility of skills development in Sudan. 
  • Regional and international connections: Connecting Sudanese skills-system leaders with regional and international networks, institutions and peers to exchange knowledge, strengthen leadership and governance, and access new ideas, expertise and opportunities for collaboration. These connections help strengthen Sudan's skills system while creating opportunities to learn from international experience.

From skills to opportunity

Youth Skills aims to create connected pathways rather than isolated training experiences:

Learn → Build practical skills → Receive coaching and support → Connect to employers, markets or finance → Gain recognition → Employment, enterprise or further learning

The pathway will not look the same for everyone. Some young people may progress towards employment, while others may develop an enterprise, build on existing informal skills or continue into further learning.

This flexibility is central to the Youth Skills approach.

Who we work with

Youth Skills works across the skills ecosystem, recognising that sustainable change requires collaboration between different actors.

We work with:

  • Young people, particularly those facing barriers to education, skills and economic opportunity; 
  • Employers and industry, to strengthen the relevance of skills development and connections to the labour market; 
  • Training and education providers, to improve the quality and relevance of learning; 
  • Government and skills institutions, to strengthen systems, policy and governance; 
  • Community and civil society organisations, to reach and support underserved groups; and 
  • Development and international partners, to share knowledge, expertise and approaches. 

Youth Skills aims to contribute to a stronger, more inclusive and responsive skills ecosystem in Sudan,one that connects learning with economic opportunity and recognises the skills people already have.

For young people, this means greater access to relevant skills, employment, enterprise opportunities and recognition.

For the wider system, it means stronger connections between young people, employers, training providers and government, alongside improvements in TVET quality, skills recognition, governance and the perception of technical and vocational education. 

Ultimately, Youth Skills seeks to support a future in which young people can use their skills to build sustainable livelihoods and play a meaningful role in Sudan's recovery and economic development.
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