SDG4 aims to ensure equal access to quality education for all and to promote lifelong learning opportunities. In terms of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, the third target of this MDG aims to ensure that women and men have equal access to quality and affordable technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university education ([6][28][6]; [12]; [13]; [18]; [17]; [19]). From this perspective, it is imperative to reduce barriers to skills development and access to technical and vocational education and training, from secondary level through to tertiary education, especially university, and to offer young people and adults lifelong learning opportunities. The fourth target of MDG4 is more explicit: by 2030, it aims to significantly increase the number of young people and adults with the technical and vocational skills needed for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.

With regard to access, it is understood that there is a need to expand equitable access to the Technical and Vocational Education and Training sub-sector, while guaranteeing the quality of education ([28]), which makes it imperative to increase and diversify the learning offer, through multiple education and training modalities, so that all young people and adults, especially girls and women, can acquire the knowledge, skills, and aptitudes required for decent work and life. In turn, the acquisition of skills, in addition to the mastery of work-specific skills, aims to place greater emphasis on cognitive and non-cognitive skills, particularly in the areas of problem-solving ([5]; [23]), critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, and communication skills, which are usable in a wide range of professional sectors ([1]; [3]). As a result, learners should be offered opportunities to update their skills at regular intervals, through lifelong learning ([13]; [28]). For the implementation of the SDGs, and in particular SDG4, countries have committed to intensifying their efforts to achieve the vision of the world they want to see by 2030. Through the Ministry of Education, the Government of Burundi has consequently adopted the PES 2022-2030, with the aim of moving towards the realization of the United Nations’ commitment to the SDGs, with particular emphasis on SDG4.

In this section, we take a look back at the challenges facing Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and then talk about priority programs.

4.2.1. Technical and Vocational Education and Training Challenges as the 2022-2030 PES Is Adopted

Prior to the adoption of the Education Sector Plan 2022-2030, Technical and Vocational Education and Training was poorly adapted to the labor market, had a weak strategic foundation, and suffered from chronic institutional instability, as evidenced by repeated changes in ministerial supervision, which had a significant impact on vocational education and training. Other challenges included

• the failure of skills information systems and public-private partnerships;

• the lack of regular data on skill requirements and professions;

• the nonexistence of labor market observation;

• the lack of diversified financing;

• the concentration, in terms of public provision of technical education, on the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) streams, to the detriment of the agricultural sections that generate jobs for the Burundian economy (Hello|INEE, s. d.). The PES 2022-2030 aims to provide answers to these challenges and proposes actions that could be taken to promote quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Burundi.

4.2.2. Actions Planned by the Education Sector Plan 2022-2030 to Promote Technical and Vocational Education and Training

For the effective implementation of SDG4 in terms of Technical and Vocational Education and Training promotion, various actions are planned by the education sector plan 2022-2030 and are designed in the form of sub-programs; these include:

Sub-programs related to technical and vocational education and training partnership governance:

The aim of this sub-program is to ensure the effective achievement of the qualitative and quantitative objectives of technical and vocational education and training and is achieved through:

• identifying the legal and regulatory texts to be put in place;

• preparation, validation, and distribution of identified texts;

• revitalizing school management committees;

• the operationalization of the national qualification and certification framework and the joint monitoring-evaluation committee for public-private partnerships;

• an increase in the technical and vocational education and training budget;

• supporting the self-financing of technical and vocational education and training schools;

• raising awareness of the importance of trades among the general public (students, parents, local authorities, etc.) ([8]; [21]; [24]; [30]; [37]).

Sub-program linked to the development of a high-quality technical and professional offering. Intending to increase the number of technical and vocational education and training learners, the planned activities include the following:

Building and equipping technical schools in each commune, and vocational training centers in each province, taking inclusiveness into account; Infrastructure and equipment maintenance; Regulations governing the recruitment of trainers; Guiding girls/women into the professions of their choice; Incentives for girls/women in primary and secondary trades ([9]; [17]; [28]).

Sub-program linked to quality improvement and the implementation of training engineering adapted to the needs of the economy. Conceived to improve training provision to guarantee quality education in line with employment needs, its implementation can be observed through various actions, in particular:

• evaluation of training offers concerning the job market;

• promoting work-study training (theory in the classroom and practice on the job);

• granting allowances to cover transport and other training costs to encourage young people, particularly the vulnerable, to take part in apprenticeships, especially young women and disabled young people;

• equipping plants according to their needs;

• promoting the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT);

• encouraging the mobility of skilled trainers;

• strengthening the technical and pedagogical capacities of all trainers;

• support for training through exchanges of experience;

• capacity building for curriculum developers ([9]; [10]; [25]).

Sub-program linked to the socio-professional integration of technical and vocational education and training graduates. Focused on improving the employability of technical and vocational education and training graduates, it aims to:

• develop entrepreneurial skills through active learning (learning by doing);

• organize workshops to train prizewinners in project design and advocacy;

• set up a database within the establishments to track the integration of graduates;

• Prepare winners for the 4Ps: Place, Product, Price, Promotion;

• \tsupport the creation of new growth-oriented start-ups through small grants;

• strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems for start-ups through networking and mentoring programs;

• provide ongoing training and capacity building for integration units;

• support the implementation and appropriation of the leasing mechanism;

• experiment with digital financing mechanisms in the centers (mobile money, etc.) ([9]; [38]).

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lays down principles that are applicable to all member states; the establishment of standard-setting instruments for technical and vocational education and training, namely the Convention on Technical and Vocational Education and the Recommendation concerning technical and vocational education and training adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference in 1989 and 2015, respectively, is part of this framework. From these normative instruments, we can see that quality technical and vocational education and training must aim to promote the development of policies and governance systems ([34]), the quality and relevance of the teaching-learning process, mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the teaching-learning process, research and knowledge management, and international cooperation. It should be noted that the actions set out in the PES 2022-2030 are partly in line with the indicators set out by UNESCO in its standard-setting instruments; indeed, these actions overlap with the principles set out by UNESCO with regard to the promotion of policies and governance, quality and relevance, and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms; however, the PES 2022-2030 is silent on the promotion of research and knowledge management, and on international cooperation.