Work-based learning or WBL is an acronym that is popping up in more and more conversations happening around the globe, many of them connected to another acronym, FoW, or Future of Work. But what does WBL imply? It refers to all forms of learning that takes place in a real work environment. It provides individuals with the skills needed to successfully obtain and keep jobs and progress in their professional development.

In countries with a predominantly school based TVET system integrating WBL is seen as a powerful vehicle for better employability of young people, including groups with more vulnerable backgrounds, as well as improving the quality of TVET learning. This is why UNESCO is implementing the Youth Employment in the Mediterranean (YEM) project, funded by the European Union, in select countries of the South Mediterranean.

To address the topic, UNESCO and EU organized a regional workshop in Rabat on 3-4 of October 2019. The findings of a comparative and longitudinal analysis of WBL programs for young people in the Arab Region were presented, based on country studies conducted jointly by UNESCO and the European Training Foundation (ETF). UNESCO-UNEVOC introduced the YEM Platform, a tool built for the YEM countries (Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia) to share knowledge and have access to relevant publications. The dynamic and participative workshop allowed for colleagues from the region to learn from Morocco’s experience and share their own stories, while also exploring more in-depth solutions.

WBL being at the heart of what GAN does, we shared our experience from the GAN Networks, particularly GAN Guatemala, GAN Malawi and GAN France, as countries with diverse contexts that have found different ways to build an enabling environment through employer and social partner engagement.