Virtual conference on skills for a resilient youth Virtual conference report UNESCO-UNEVOC TVeT Forum, 6-14 July 2020 Moderated by Terry Neal, Education Specialist, Technical and Vocational Skills Development, Commonwealth of Learning Organized in celebration of World Youth Skills Day, 15 July 2020 Organized by: In collaboration with: Virtual conference report AT A GLANCE Every year on 15 July, the global community celebrates they will need to be equipped with the relevant skills World Youth Skills Day. The day is an opportunity for for today as well as the competencies to successfully young people, technical and vocational education and manage evolving challenges and adapt to future training (TVET) institutions, and public and private disruptions. sector stakeholders to acknowledge and celebrate the importance of equipping young people with skills for The virtual conference on Skills for a Resilient Youth employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. was held from 6-14 July 2020. It was open to all members of the UNESCO-UNEVOC TVeT Forum, an World Youth Skills Day 2020 took place in a challenging online community with more than 6500 members. context. Prior to the pandemic, young people aged 15- The conference sought to gather knowledge, insights, 24 were two to three times more likely than adults to experiences and practices from the international be un- or under-employed and often faced a prolonged TVET community to understand how the pandemic is school-to-work transition period. In post-COVID-19 affecting youth and how TVET teachers, institutions and societies, as young people seek employment and government agencies are responding. are called upon to contribute to the recovery effort, Key reflections Young people’s work and study has been Present experiences by students, institutions, severely affected by the pandemic with employers and governments are moving consequences that we are yet to see played out systems towards a new normal for TVET Prior to the pandemic, one in five of those 15-24 years The pandemic has pushed all TVET stakeholders of age were not in education, employment or training to move towards online learning. Those who were (NEET). Following the pandemic, the situation has already on their journey to distance and online learning worsened, and has exacerbated existing inequities were least affected and those without access to the because of differences in young people’s access to technological infrastructure were, and still are, least able technology and work opportunities. to take advantage of online opportunities. In seeking to skill youth, TVET faces extra Moving to a desired new normal for future challenges in moving to distance and online resilient TVET requires changes across learning because of the need to develop TVET systems, particularly to ensure the practical skills equitable access needed to meet global skills development needs Most TVET courses cannot be offered fully online because they include development of practical skills. TVET systems would benefit from moving to a new Simulations, and virtual and augmented reality can normal, blending online and practical and soft skills assist, but are not yet widely used and are limited in development. This blended new normal will require what they can achieve. a changed mindset for all stakeholders within TVET systems, ranging from government agencies to learners. While TVET systems had already recognized the need to train youth in soft and digital skills, the pandemic has increased this awareness. TVET systems need to be flexible to respond to different skills needs in the face of changing ways of working and new patterns of employment. Soft and digital skills are increasingly important, and there is added benefit in real world settings to develop such skills. UNESCO-UNEVOC Virtual conference Skills for a resilient youth Background Every year on 15 July, the global community celebrates issues affecting TVET systems, including difficulties World Youth Skills Day. The day is an opportunity for in harnessing the benefits of digitalization and young people, technical and vocational education and mainstreaming entrepreneurial learning. Prior to the training (TVET) institutions, and public and private current crisis, young people aged 15-24 were two to three sector stakeholders to acknowledge and celebrate the times more likely than adults to be un- or under-employed importance of equipping young people with skills for and often faced a prolonged school-to-work transition employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. period. In post-COVID-19 societies, as young people seek employment and are called upon to contribute to the World Youth Skills Day 2020 took place in a challenging recovery effort, they will need to be equipped with the context. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has relevant skills for today as well as the competencies to substantially affected education and training sectors successfully manage evolving challenges and adapt to worldwide in two ways: future disruptions. • Institutional level. Lockdown measures have led to Moving forward, it is important to: the worldwide closure of TVET institutions and skills development organizations. UNESCO estimated that • Ensure that young people around the world nearly three-quarters of the world’s learners were continue to have access to quality education and affected by school closures across education levels by training opportunities, while keeping communities early May. As distance education and training becomes safe. This requires innovative TVET institutions that the norm, the ability of TVET institutions to implement can adequately provide distance learning and flexible such systems depends on their capacity to adapt learning pathways. TVET institutions face extra curricula as well as the preparedness of trainers and challenges beyond those affecting other education teachers. sectors, as it is difficult and sometimes impossible to develop practical skills online. TVET programmes often • Systemic level. The economic recession triggered require a blended approach, with some time spent by the COVID-19 crisis is causing a massive rise in developing practical skills in workshops or industry un- and under-employment that could have a lasting settings. impact on essential livelihoods. Transformations in the labour market will also result in changes in skills • Identify future skills needs and develop demands. TVET systems need to address the short- and responsiveness to short-, medium- and long-term medium-term impact of the current pandemic by not impacts. Skills development stakeholders need to only scaling up TVET solutions but also formulating anticipate and respond to shifts in demands for labour responses that reflect long-term sustainability. market skills. As the predicted economic crisis unfolds, we need to better understand the impact of the current pandemic on existing challenges, including While the pandemic has brought about unprecedented youth unemployment, climate change and the challenges, in many cases it further intensified existing transition to greener economies. 3 Skills for a resilient youth UNESCO-UNEVOC Virtual conference Overview The aim of the virtual conference was to: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers of those who are unemployed and underutilized have • Assess the short-, medium-, and long-term impacts of gone up dramatically across the globe. The ILO predicted the pandemic in different country contexts that in the second quarter of 2020, globally, working • Share good practices from TVET institutions about how hours equivalent to 400 million full-time workers would they have responded to the pandemic. For example, disappear in response to the pandemic. The ILO also how institutions have provided distance learning in highlighted that ‘worldwide, two billion people work in no-tech, low-tech and high-tech scenarios, and how the informal sector (mostly in emerging and developing teachers and trainers have been supported economies) and are particularly at risk’ (ILO, 2020b). • Gain insights from private sector, employee, and employer stakeholders about the impact of the Participants were asked the following questions: pandemic on their sectors, and the changes in job profiles and skills needs that they foresee • What are the youth unemployment and NEET rates in • Learn from young people about their hopes and fears your context, and what are the general trends affecting as well as the opportunities that they see moving youth unemployment (pre- and post-COVID-19)? forward • Has skills development played an effective role in • Reflect on how TVET systems can respond to the short- addressing the youth unemployment and NEET rates? and medium-term impact of the pandemic, while also • Does the COVID-19 pandemic change the role of TVET keeping in mind longer-lasting challenges. and the way it is carried out? What good practices are emerging in response to the pandemic? The following topics were opened for discussion during the virtual conference: Thread 2: TVET institutions – Good practices in distance learning in no-, low- and high-tech scenarios Thread 1: Context – Implications of the pandemic on youth skills development Blending distance learning with practical skills development has proved effective in TVET for more than Early in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, an 100 years. For example, in 1910, in response to an urgent International Labour Organization (ILO) report noted need following a typhoid epidemic, Australia introduced that 188 million people in the world were seeking its first distance TVET courses to train health inspectors by employment, and that 285 million people had either correspondence while they worked. given up searching for work or did not have enough work. The world was not tapping into the potential of nearly Today, we find examples of blended learning for TVET half a billion people – one in six of the world’s working happening across the world (Latchem, 2017). In the population, with women and youth particularly over- current crisis, as-distance-as-possible models allow for represented (ILO, 2020a). 141 million young people were young people around the world to continue their TVET affected by labour underutilization and 68 million were programmes while observing travel restrictions and unemployed. Additionally, about one in five young people physical distancing guidelines. Distance learning models were neither in employment, education or training (NEET) also allow for the upskilling of essential workers in their in 2019, which meant that they were not gaining the workplaces and the reskilling of displaced workers. skills that would enable them to gain entry to the labour market. At the same time, the percentage of industries The shift towards distance learning – which has been struggling to find staff with the necessary skills is steadily accelerated due to the current pandemic – offers the increasing (ManpowerGroup, 2019), and existing skills potential to rethink traditional face-to-face TVET by development is reported to often not prepare people challenging educational practices that have excluded adequately for jobs, particularly in low- and middle- marginalized and remote learners due to high costs and income countries (Palmer, 2017; Morsy and Adamson, limited flexibility. 2019). 4 UNESCO-UNEVOC Virtual conference Skills for a resilient youth Participants were asked the following questions: Participants were asked the following questions: • What distance learning approaches and good practices • What impact will the pandemic have on skills demands has your institution implemented in no-, low- and in the formal and informal labour markets? Please high-tech scenarios? try to refer to examples of job profiles and possible • What is the difference between emergency remote changes. teaching, such as we are seeing in response to the • What are examples of continuing training of workers pandemic, and good practice distance TVET? in the formal and informal sectors? What makes these • How is distance learning in TVET similar or different practices successful? to distance learning in the primary, secondary and • How can TVET institutes better meet the skills university sectors? What different solutions do TVET development needs of the labour markets of the providers need? future? Thread 3: Labour market - Implications of the pandemic on Thread 4: Young people – Perspectives on their hopes and jobs and future skills development fears going forward The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact The ILO estimates that more than one in six young people on the labour market. Many businesses are struggling have stopped working since the coronavirus affected in response to the economic downturn caused by the global economies, and that those who are still working pandemic or will struggle to adapt to the new world in have lost nearly a quarter of their working hours. The which we find ourselves. Companies who survive will economic crisis caused by the pandemic is hitting young successfully manage a return to work, learn from their people harder and faster than any other group. Challenges time during the crisis, and chart a new path forward. A include disruption to education and training, employment return to work will not necessarily mean that the work and income losses, and greater difficulties in finding a job. will be the same as before the pandemic – in many It is also unclear what the emotional effect of the crisis cases, changes in work processes will require workers will be for this ‘lockdown generation’. Young women are to have additional skills. This is true for the formal and particularly vulnerable, being more likely to be in informal informal sectors. However, arguably, formal businesses low paid work, and at greater risk of being excluded from in developed economies have more options, particularly education and training. those using technology, and greater resources available to them. Given the significant percentage of the world’s Participants were asked the following questions: population working in the informal sector who have not had government assistance to help them survive the • What are some of the main hopes and fears that young pandemic, we need global solutions that meet the needs people have? What are emerging opportunities? of both sectors. • What can TVET stakeholders (ministries, national bodies, institutions) do to support young people in developing the skills to meet the current context? • What else is needed alongside skills development to support young people at the moment? Engineering students at Gambia © Commonwealth of Learning Technical Training Institute 5 Skills for a resilient youth UNESCO-UNEVOC Virtual conference Thread 5: TVET systems – System-wide responses to the Participants were asked the following questions: impact of the pandemic • How did the TVET system in your country respond to In response to COVID-19, through necessity, governments the pandemic in the first few months (Phase One)? across the world are moving towards distance education • What emerging patterns of change are we seeing more systematically than ever before. We can predict four as national TVET systems implement medium-term phases through which educational institutions will move responses to the pandemic (Phases Two and Three)? (Hill, 2020). • What ‘new normals’ do you hope will emerge? What systemic changes are required to support distance Government TVET agencies have a leadership role in learning in the future? Please think in terms of short-, supporting training institutions to offer emergency mid-, and long-term changes. (Phase Four) remote teaching now, and in the transition towards the ‘new normals’. Quality distance learning requires investment in adequate technological infrastructure, building staff capability and establishing new ways of working. However, governments globally are struggling to find the resources to respond to existing challenges, let alone be able to invest in leading significant change. Phases of TVET response to COVID-19 Phase One Phase Two Phase Three Phase Four Rapid transition to remote Adding basics Extended transition Emerging new normal teaching and learning during continued turmoil Distance and online learning • Rapid transition • Add basics into • Hybrid models where • New levels of online adoption to using whatever emergency solutions learners are both adoption in new technological • Make OER available in class and online, normal, based on options are • Invest for equitable physical distancing strategic decisions available – Zoom, access rules apply, and and emerging WhatsApp, LMS, • Build staff capability lockdown status learning through radio, TV Limited or • Establish technology oscillates depending Phases 1-3 no options for some • Promote new ways on virus spread • Strategic change institutions and of working to add • Expand TVET system to scale, improve learners, especially basics to meet increased quality, increase those in remote and • Online communities demand from access and reduce poorer areas, and of practice sharing displaced workers costs women learning and changed business practices Mar-Jul 2020 Jun-Dec 2020 May 2020 – Dec 2021 2022 and beyond Adapted from Hill, 2020 6 UNESCO-UNEVOC Virtual conference Skills for a resilient youth Key reflections Young people’s work and study has been severely affected by the pandemic with consequences that we are yet to see played out The virtual conference began with a recognition of the career where I was at work or school 24/7 to being global context, prior to the pandemic, in which youth at a complete stand still. But it’s one thing that this were three times as likely to be unemployed as those pandemic has shown me that I’m extremely adaptable. over 25 years of age, and young women were twice as Because I had to acclimate myself to online learning, likely as young men to be without work. At the same which was a very interesting experience to begin with, time, one in five of those 15-24 years of age were not in but it all paid off in the end.” education, employment or training (NEET). Following the pandemic, the situation has worsened with many young Youth wanted to be able to continue with safe, relevant people having lost their employment and now not able to and ‘non-boring’ learning. They also wanted exposure to continue their studies. broader opportunities, development of their life skills, and to see the importance of TVET promoted more. Over the last 60 years, youth populations across the world have changed location, with Africa now having a higher Other points made were that youth want support percentage of young people than other regions. Countries through these uncertain times, to cope with immediate with a high proportion of youth tend to have weaker anxiety and adaptation, and in reassessing their futures technological infrastructure and less affordable data plans, in response to changes that they cannot yet see. There making it more challenging to implement online learning. was a recognition of the family’s role in providing support and how lockdown could strengthen family ties. There Participants noted the importance of listening to youth to were examples of young people developing skills while understand them, both directly and through research that away from the campus, such as assisting at home, taking others have done. Three World Skills Champions shared on online work and other income-generating activities, their experiences of having to adapt quickly to studying and helping community organizations in their relief online, and to disruptions to their workplace learning, operations. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an immediate opportunities and future aspirations. environment in which young people have developed and demonstrated adaptability and resilience. “At the time of the outbreak, I was working and going to college at the same time. After the declaration, There was consensus that the pandemic is exacerbating all lectures and exams were replaced online and the existing inequities between young people. company encouraged our staff to work from home … so I am going through things I have never experienced “… the problem of COVID-19 will only further before, such as video meeting, social distancing and to accentuate the social differences between the work while wearing a face mask” various existing social classes; with young people from the most vulnerable classes remaining in even “As [a] student, it’s completely changed the way of my more vulnerable conditions, mainly in terms of job studies. I start[ed] taking online courses. As it is my first opportunities. With the rush to complete the school experience, it made me feel stressed and anxious at the year at any cost, precisely those who are already beginning. The worry about my own health and that of vulnerable by not having access to the internet and not my loved ones, the financial situation, the adaptation even having computer equipment, end up being left of a new different study method weren’t pleasant behind.” things to do at this circumstance, but after deciding to think outside the box, see things from [a] different Even for those who can continue studying, it is not yet perspective and channel my anxiety into action, I clear what will be the long-term impact of changes figured out how interesting and magical it was to see to ways of studying and the broader environment. how everything had become virtual but effective … Be Apprenticeships and internships are particularly at adaptable, don’t be afraid to implement new habit[s].” risk with potential closures and decreased operational capacity for many businesses. “The change for me is it put everything on hold. Being that I’m a chef in the hospitality industry, the hotels “We are still in the early days of the transition and the were pretty hard hit and closed pretty early, and my effects on students and competencies have yet to be school as well was closed for the time being. So, it was fully assessed.” just up to me to get used to going from a fast-paced 7 Skills for a resilient youth UNESCO-UNEVOC Virtual conference In seeking to skill youth, TVET faces extra challenges in moving to distance and online learning because of the need to develop practical skills It was agreed that TVET faces specific challenges in Videos, animations and live demonstrations were response to the full or partial closure of campuses and proving useful in some contexts. Participants agreed that workplaces. While theoretical components can be learned simulations, and augmented and virtual reality, offered online, most TVET courses rely on access to equipment the potential for learners to practice some online skills and materials in specialist physical contexts to develop in environments that replicate real life. However, such practical skills. For some skills, particularly IT skills, the software is not yet widely used. It is only available for internet increasingly offers the environment in which to some skills, is often proprietary and requires adequate develop practical skills, so these courses, while practical, technological infrastructure to implement, which makes it can be done fully online. inaccessible for providers within many contexts. This means that solutions which other education sectors The virtual conference shared examples from Italy and might use can only partly enable TVET delivery. In offering Finland of the use of technology to help build practical theory online, TVET providers face similar challenges to skills. other sectors in remote regions with limited technological infrastructure and poor connectivity. Smaller TVET The story of one rural Italian TVET provider showed the institutes are also less likely to have established systems benefit of being connected to broader projects which to support online learning. Where online options are have developed sophisticated digital resources. Students available, learners, particularly in developing countries, have been able to continue learning cooking from home often struggle to afford data to connect. Learners may thanks to the pre-existing digital cooking academy which not even be able to access a messaging app, such as students and teachers were already using. This had been WhatsApp, which tends to be the most available option. set up through INTERREG, a cross-border cooperation Participants touched on the challenges of teachers and programme financed by the European Regional students not being used to online learning and challenges Development Fund (https://impactalbacannes.eu/index. in building their buy in to new ways of working. php/it/digital-learning). Some industrial sector training courses at Italian TVET institutes such as electronics, Teachers have worked with whatever technological industrial automation and robotics were also already using solutions are available to them - which has ranged from ICT software, namely CAD, CAM, PLC programming, and the more simple, more readily available options such as simulators (e.g. for production lines, robot lines, control messaging apps like WhatsApp, social media like Facebook numerical machines). Teachers were able to take a PLC and YouTube, modified use for education of existing control panel home and continue training with online technologies such as Google docs, MS Teams, radio and classes using simulators, video lessons, and Moodle as TV, through to educationally specific options like learning an online platform. They were able to use digital material management systems and simulations. developed with Erasmus+ projects e.g. Arduino course, http://www.openinproject.eu/. Also, companies such Ideas for overcoming the challenge of practical skills as SOLIDWORKS, ROCKWELL, and FANUC gave Italian development included: TVET providers free licenses for courses, simulators, and software. • Sending physical kits to learners' homes to develop some practical skills The Finnish story shared how centralized services and • Restructuring course delivery to focus on theory digital resources meant that TVET providers were already during lockdown and practical skills development using online learning, including some that help develop when campuses or workplaces re-open practical and soft skills through interactive multimedia. • Rethinking the use of on campus physical spaces when campuses re- open to catch up on practical Participants agreed that even if such solutions become skills development – by staggering appointments, more widely available, they cannot fully prepare learners increasing the number of study days per week from to work in the real-life environments in which they need to five to six, and reducing the length of the summer prove themselves competent. However, the pandemic has holiday. also shown that learning to work in virtual environments is increasingly important in preparing learners for jobs of the future. 8 UNESCO-UNEVOC Virtual conference Skills for a resilient youth While TVET systems had already recognized the need to train youth in soft and digital skills, the pandemic has increased this awareness Participants agreed that TVET institutes need to be closely COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of entrepreneurialism from connected with industry through the pandemic. However, Kenya were informal businesses pivoting to produce PPE, it can be challenging enough for institutions to change and youth switching to grow food who also had the ICT how they teach, let alone strengthening connections with skills to promote their goods through social media. industry and adapting quickly to meet new skills gaps. Some TVET institutes pivoted towards responsiveness and TVET institutions need to be responsive, agile and entrepreneurship. They acted quickly to use their skilled flexible enough to respond to different skills needs in staff, trainee students and infrastructure to start producing the face of changing ways of working and new patterns products for their communities, such as masks, hand of employment. Soft and digital skills are increasingly washing machines and sanitizers. important, and there is added benefit in real world settings to develop such skills. Prior to COVID-19, TVET Participants noted the growing importance of digital skills systems had struggled to define, develop and assess the and the benefit of using technology in teaching to build skills, particularly soft skills, that the world needs to build a such skills, pandemic or no pandemic. It was felt that better future. these skills would become more important and evolve in response to new ways of working. To better understand how we might respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RMIT University in Melbourne “Moving towards the 'new normals', I imagine that (a UNEVOC Centre) is conducting an extensive research those skills labelled as highly dependent on personal project. The project aims to explore the key challenges social interaction will change. Communication and facing particular populations of young people and to collaboration for example remain critical to many job co-design research-informed, place-based solutions for tasks, but how they are carried out will be different. young people’s sustainable futures (https://unevocrmit. I think we can all see it in our daily lives - physical org). One of the researchers from the RMIT suggested that meetings have been replaced by digital meetings. we think more critically about the skills needed in a world But it isn't that simple. You can't run a digital meeting characterized by crisis and disruption, including thinking as you would run a physical meeting - it requires more broadly than what employers want. The participant a different awareness, design and setup to keep suggested that participants engaged.” “… we will do young people - who will carry the “Training our youths towards a digital driven economy greatest burden in the downstream of COVID-19 is key to development.” crisis - a real disservice if, in a forum like this, our discussions about 'skills' fail to take up the challenge The virtual conference also noted the importance of green of transforming the world that COVID-19 entered - a skills for the future with some concern that these might be world that was already in deep crisis, already marked being overlooked within urgent responses to COVID-19. by staggering inequalities, a world that we should not want to 'bounce back' to.” “Discussions have been focused on the economic, health, and social implications of COVID-19, but the The participant also shared a discussion paper on how we environment should not be forgotten. Scientists are capture soft skills which have been developed through the going back to nature and the environment in search of project . cure for the infection … To care for humanity, we must care for nature and commit to a green and resilient Another example of including soft skills in skills future.” development was that of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) working with institutions in Namibia and Rwanda As the World Health Organization notes in the introduction to improve the employability of graduates, using the COL to its manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19: Employability Toolkit. Feedback from employers in these countries was that they wanted learners to be able to ‘hit “The pandemic is a reminder of the intimate and the ground running’, not just understand theory. delicate relationship between people and planet. Any efforts to make our world safer are doomed to “Teaching them to memorize reams of points and write fail unless they address the critical interface between those into exam pads is just not useful anymore.” people and pathogens, and the existential threat of climate change that is making our earth less habitable." Entrepreneurship was also acknowledged as important, especially for those who had lost their income due to the 9 Skills for a resilient youth UNESCO-UNEVOC Virtual conference g n ni r a e L of h t al e w n o m Informal furtniture cooperative m in Zambia, supported by the o C © Commonwealth of Learning Present experiences by students, institutions, employers and governments are moving systems towards a new normal for TVET The first response to the pandemic tended to be training Companies with technology in place to enable workers TVET teachers in online learning and making existing to work from home, including those who had invested in technologies and digital materials available to teachers. advanced manufacturing technologies that could control Those who were already on their journey to distance and production virtually through the Internet of Things, online learning were least affected and those without tended to be less affected. Therefore, they were less likely access to the technological infrastructure were, and still to need to reduce staff and cease training programmes. are, least able to take advantage of online opportunities. In contrast, many industries, such as hospitality and service industries that require close interaction between This was true at different levels of TVET systems – regional, staff and customers, have been more severely affected. national, institutional, companies, teachers and learners. Many have struggled to keep going as businesses, let alone to continue workplace training. This is especially For example, European TVET institutions and those in true in countries with a large informal sector and where Commonwealth countries benefited from existing teacher governments have not been able to offer subsidies to training and digital resources. While these are freely support businesses, such as in the case of the Zambian available to others, those who were already aware of them informal furniture making cooperative. could move more quickly and easily to using them. As previously mentioned, teachers have worked with At the national level, Omnia in Finland was able to quickly whatever technological solutions are available to create an ‘online pedagogy support task force’ to help them - which has ranged from the more simple, more teachers move online. The Zambian Ministry of Education readily available options such as messaging apps like built on its existing Centre of Excellence in online learning WhatsApp, social media like Facebook and YouTube, and COL’s available online courses to rapidly scale up modified use of existing technologies such as Google training of TVET teachers. In Kenya, as the Ministry of docs and forms, MS Teams, radio and TV for educational Education TVET Directorate developed a strategy to purposes, through to educationally specific options like respond to COVID-19, it was able to establish an advisory learning management systems. Some companies have group made up of individuals already experienced in made simulations available to educators. Assessment online learning. The TVET Authority had previously was a challenge, especially where it relies on invigilated developed guidelines for online teaching and learning. examination. Participants also expressed concern at the fairness of online assessment for learners without reliable Educational institutions with organizational structures or affordable internet access. set up to lead online learning were also well-placed. For example, Yaba College of Technology’s existing Across the globe, learners vary significantly in their Flexible Skills Development Centre was able to lead the experience of and access to online learning. In many institution’s response. They regularly surveyed teachers to places, whether Africa, Latin America or the Caribbean, understand their context, offered weekly online classes to particularly in rural settings, access to data, devices and help them in using a range of technologies and existing the internet is still a challenge. One participant suggested digital resources, and appointed departmental online that print resources are a possible option to ensure learning champions to support their colleagues. They also ongoing access to learning in such contexts. offered free online courses to students to help build their skills in online learning. 10