Thais Costa
Digital Labs for TVET
This project is part of the multi-year Work in Progress! alliance program, which focuses on equipping young people with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century. In collaboration with Oxfam’s country teams in Somaliland and Nigeria, we identified a key opportunity to enhance the role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. These institutions play a crucial role in the educational ecosystem, offering a holistic learning approach that integrates formal, non-formal, and informal teaching methods. By strengthening their capacity, we aimed to bridge the gap between education and employment, ensuring that young people are equipped with relevant, future-proof skills.
My Role:
As the project lead, I guided multidisciplinary teams through design research, ideation workshops, and co-creation of solutions, resulting in the development of Digital Labs, a digital literacy program aimed at enhancing young people's technical and soft skills. I also fostered collaboration between stakeholders, aligning TVET institutions, local industries, and digital education initiatives.
Company/ partners
Output
A learning community on digital literacy and future skills. for students and teachers of TVET institutions.
Location
Nigeria & Somaliland
Date
2019
The design challenge
The primary goal of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has traditionally been to directly prepare individuals for the workforce. Once viewed as inferior to academic education, TVET’s potential is now increasingly recognized by governments and international organizations as a key solution to systemic challenges, particularly youth unemployment. However, with the rapidly evolving nature of work, upskilling for both professional and personal development is becoming even more critical. There remains a significant gap between what TVET currently offers and the skills young people need to thrive as future employees and entrepreneurs in the 21st century.
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Our design challenge was: "How might we help students in TVET education in Somaliland build the skills they need to succeed in the changing labor market?" Guided by this question, we embarked on a collaborative co-creation process with students, TVET managers, educators, creatives, and Ministries of Education and Employment from Nigeria and Somaliland. The process has been both enriching and empowering, creating space for all voices to be heard—especially those of individuals who typically have limited influence on decisions affecting their futures.
The outcome
Digital Labs is a digital literacy course and learning community designed to equip both students and teachers with future-ready skills. Its focus was on enhancing digital literacy while fostering a mindset of continuous learning and growth. The course aimed to prepare participants for the increasing demand for digital skills in the modern job market.
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Several institutions were involved in the pilot phase of the project, where they tested the course content and format with both teachers and students. They engaged with the first module of the course and provided feedback during a group evaluation session. This collaborative process allowed us to co-create new ideas and refine the Digital Labs concept based on their input.
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The goal was to tailor the course to the specific needs of each country, ensuring that the final product was practical and could be seamlessly integrated into existing TVET programs and training schedules.
Making a rapid prototype in the ideation phase helps you to make your thought and ideas more tangible and practical.
This tool gives you a comprehensive overview of the ecosystem surrounding your stakeholders and helps to identify opportunities and risk areas for the concept.
Energisers help people to get to know each other, increasing energy or enthusiasm levels during the workshop.