Alliance for Dual VET in Latin America and the Caribbean
Annual review and outlook
23.12.2025
The year 2025 was another milestone for the Alliance for Dual VET in Latin America and the Caribbean. Under the presidency of the Brazilian vocational training institution SENAC and in collaboration with BIBB and ILO/Cinterfor, important initiatives and events were organised. At the virtual year-end meeting on 8 December, members reflected on the year and set the course for 2026.
Webinars and conferences: professional inspiration and regional cooperation
The Alliance set new accents in 2025 with a series of webinars. After three successful virtual events, the fourth webinar in August presented the innovative model of SENAC (Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Comercial), which now also links training in the trade and services sector directly to the requirements of the labour market. Speakers Alessandra Cruz (vocational training expert in the national department) and Thabata Franco (technical director for the management of educational projects) explained how SENAC's competence-based model combines practice-oriented learning with the needs of the economy.
The fifth webinar followed in October, highlighting the role of the productive sector in dual training. Experts Cláudia Mendes from SENAI (Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial, Brazil) and Rayza Pichardo from INFOTEP (Instituto Nacional de Formación Técnico Profesional, Dominican Republic) discussed how training systems can be adapted to the requirements of companies, with a particular focus on the integration of Economy 4.0 and numerous best practice examples.
Conference in Rio de Janeiro: a highlight of the collaboration
The international conference in Rio de Janeiro (22–24 October) was another highlight. Over 600 participants from 27 Brazilian states and 11 countries exchanged ideas on best practice examples and challenges in dual training, both on site and online. The event placed a clear focus on inclusion and promoting economic competitiveness through practice-oriented training in the workplace.
Global TVET Forum 2025: Latin America brings perspectives to the global discussion
One week after the conference and the Rio de Janeiro Proclamation, the Alliance participated in the Global TVET Forum 2025 in Berlin.
Anna Beatriz Waehneldt, Director of Vocational Education and Training at SENAC and President of the Alliance for Dual Training in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Elena Montobbio, Director of ILO/Cinterfor (International Labour Organisation/Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training), emphasised in their contributions the importance of cooperation between different networks and platforms worldwide. They particularly stressed how important it is for Latin America to be involved in global TVET strategies, such as the BMBFSFJ initiative "Towards a Global TVET Agenda".
The Alliance actively brings regional priorities from Latin America into the international discussion and shows how close cooperation between educational institutions, the private sector and international organisations promotes a practice-oriented and inclusive education agenda. In this way, the Alliance helps to ensure that the challenges and innovative models of the region are heard worldwide.
Outlook for 2026
The successful year 2025 came to an end with the virtual general meeting on 8 December. Attention now turns to 2026, when a new presidency will take over and successfully continue the work of the Alliance for Dual VET in Latin America and the Caribbean – supported by BIBB as the reference institution and ILO/Cinterfor as the technical secretariat.