Ethiopia Moves to Create Tourism Sector Skills Body to Close Workforce Gaps

Ethiopia has taken a significant step toward strengthening its tourism and hospitality sector through a national consultation aimed at establishing a Sector Skills Body (SSB) that will help align workforce training with the needs of the industry.

The proposed body will serve as an industry-led platform enabling employers to guide workforce development, anticipate future skills demand and upgrade the competencies of workers across the tourism and hospitality value chain.

The consultation was organized under the ILO Global Skills Programme in collaboration with national partners and brought together key stakeholders from government, industry and training institutions to discuss governance structures, institutional roles and lessons from similar initiatives in other sectors.

Addressing Skills Gaps in a Growing Sector

Tourism and hospitality are considered among Ethiopia's most promising sectors, with the potential to create thousands of jobs, particularly for women and young people, while strengthening local value chains and supporting economic diversification.

However, stakeholders noted that persistent human resource gaps and skills mismatches continue to limit the sector's growth.

Without a coordinated and market-responsive training system, the sector's potential to contribute to export growth and decent employment cannot be fully realized.

Sector Skills Bodies are widely recognized as independent, employer-driven mechanisms that help bridge the gap between industry demand and education and training supply.

By linking employers with technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, SSBs ensure that training programs respond to evolving labour market needs and productivity requirements.

Industry Leaders Back the Initiative

Dr. Feteh Weldesenbet Zeberga, President of the Ethiopian Hotel and Tourism Employers Federation, described the establishment of the SSB as both timely and strategic for the country's tourism industry.

"The Sector Skills Body for Ethiopian Tourism and Hospitality is a timely and strategic initiative," he said.

"It will address one of the major human resource challenges facing the sector by strengthening skills development, standardization and industry alignment."

He emphasized that strong collaboration among partners and capacity-building efforts will be essential for the long-term success of the initiative.

Learning from Agribusiness Success

During the consultation, participants also reviewed experiences from the agribusiness sector, where Ethiopia has already established a functioning Sector Skills Body.

Dr. Dawit Moges, Vice President of the Confederation of Ethiopian Employers Federation (CEEF) and Vice Chairman of the Agribusiness Sector Skills Body, highlighted the tangible benefits achieved through structured cooperation between employers, training institutions and government agencies.

According to Moges, the agribusiness SSB has helped:

• Identify sector-specific skills gaps

• Develop competency-based training standards

• Promote industry-led curricula

• Improve the relevance of TVET programs to enterprise needs

He said establishing a similar structure for tourism and hospitality could significantly enhance the sector's competitiveness.

"It would create a formal platform where employers can actively shape workforce development, address skill shortages and improve productivity and competitiveness," Moges noted.

Strengthening Skills Governance

Stakeholders at the consultation stressed that a Tourism and Hospitality SSB would help institutionalize public–private dialogue on skills development.

The body is expected to support:

• Development of competency-based training standards

• Promotion of industry-informed curricula

• Certification and professionalization of hospitality occupations

• Anticipation of future workforce needs in areas such as digitalization, sustainability and service excellence

By embedding employer leadership within the skills governance system, the proposed structure aims to improve training relevance and accountability across the sector.

Toward a Competitive Tourism Industry

Participants concluded that sustained partner engagement and institutional capacity building will be critical as Ethiopia moves toward establishing the new Sector Skills Body.

If successfully implemented, the mechanism could help strengthen workforce skills, improve service quality and position Ethiopia's tourism industry to meet regional and international standards.

Ultimately, the initiative is expected to support higher productivity, stronger industry competitiveness and sustainable job creation in one of Ethiopia's key growth sectors.