Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) prepares young people for skilled work as electricians, plumbers, mechanics, nurses, solar technicians and more. In Somalia it is a small and fragmented sector. Provision is shared between education ministries, labour ministries, non-governmental organisations and private institutes, and there is little reliable national data on how many students it reaches.
Where TVET fits in the system
Puntland's education ministry has described TVET as offered at two points: after primary school and after secondary school. Its Ministry of Education and Higher Education has a department that combines TVET with non-formal education. Somaliland's Ministry of Education and Science also lists a technical and vocational department among its twelve departments. At federal level, both the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs are involved in skills training.
Public centres being revived
- National Institute of Skills and Vocational Training (Mogadishu): the former Industrial Vocational Training Centre, known locally as "Xero Jarmal", now under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. It has resumed training in ICT, solar energy, carpentry and plumbing with support from a skills project funded by the African Development Bank and with equipment from Türkiye's development agency, TIKA.
- Mohamud Ahmed Ali TVET Centre (Kaaraan, Mogadishu): a public vocational school built under an EU-funded project. The federal education ministry and the Banadir Regional Administration reopened it after a major renovation in February 2026.
- Somali Maritime Science Institute (Mogadishu): opened in May 2026 by the federal Ministry of Transport and Ports to train students from all federal member states in maritime studies and marine resource management.
NGO and private providers
Much practical training is delivered by non-governmental organisations. In Hargeisa, the Pharo Foundation runs a TVET centre offering certificate courses in plumbing, electrical installation, painting and decorating, and renewable energy for adults aged 18 to 30. In Mogadishu, SOS Children's Villages has trained nurses, midwives and community health workers since 2002 through its College of Health Sciences. Many universities also run diploma programmes in health, IT and business that overlap with vocational training.
Challenges
- Very few public centres: when the Kaaraan centre was built, the NGO that implemented the project described it as the only public TVET centre then operating in Banadir.
- Little data or regulation: UNESCO's 2021 PEER profile of Somalia found no information on how TVET providers are regulated.
- Dependence on short-term funding: many courses rely on donor projects, and training can stop when funding ends, as happened at the national institute in Mogadishu before it resumed after a long suspension.