by Arsalan Atiq

The Build4Skills approach, led by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is an innovative model designed to transform technical and vocational education and training (TVET) by embedding practical, work‑based learning into large infrastructure projects.

Why Build4Skills?

In many countries, TVET graduates struggle to find jobs because their training is often theory‑heavy and detached from real‑world workplace requirements. Employers, especially in the construction and infrastructure sectors, report that young graduates lack hands‑on experience and practical skills needed on actual job sites. Build4Skills addresses this challenge by leveraging ongoing infrastructure construction projects as active learning platforms for youth.

Core Philosophy

At its heart, Build4Skills uses construction and infrastructure projects financed by development banks—such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) —as dynamic training sites. By incorporating traineeships and workplace‑based learning into project design and procurement, the approach ensures that TVET students gain hands‑on experience, workplace competencies, and industry‑relevant skills while contributing to the delivery of real infrastructure.

The approach promotes placing trainees directly on construction sites where they learn by doing alongside skilled professionals. This includes training for in‑company instructors so that mentoring, occupational safety, gender sensitivity, and practical didactics are part of everyday site work.

Key Features

1. Build4Skills transforms public and multilateral development bank–supported infrastructure projects into living classrooms where technical skills are developed in situ, not just in training institutions.

2. The approach promotes integrating traineeship requirements into procurement processes, encouraging contractors to offer structured on‑the‑job training opportunities tied to project contracts.
3. Build4Skills invests in equipping on‑site trainers with the pedagogical tools, safety awareness, and gender‑responsive practices needed to support trainees effectively.
4. Programs under this approach often include initiatives to promote female participation in technical fields, helping break down barriers to entry in traditionally male‑dominated sectors.

Impact and Benefits

Build4Skills helps to:

• Improve employability by ensuring TVET graduates possess practical, job‑ready skills.
• Enhance workforce readiness in the construction and infrastructure sectors.
• Strengthen local labour markets by connecting trainees with employers early in their careers.
• Support inclusive development, including gender‑equitable access to opportunities.

By aligning education with labour market needs and using large infrastructure investments as platforms for structured traineeships and work‑based learning, the Build4Skills approach offers a scalable model for enhancing TVET effectiveness and youth employment outcomes across countries where it is implemented.