Paper short abstract:

In a rural agricultural village in Rwanda, a TVET school is breaking barriers in providing formal education in vocations such as carpentry, masonry, and tailoring for the rural youth. With 70% of trainers coming from the village, students are much closer and inspired by leaders who also tutor them.

Paper long abstract:

In Rwanda, the government's policy on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been robust, with continuous support and guidance to institutions that run formal training. In fact, the Workforce Development Authority created by the government seeks to ensure that, the youth of Rwanda acquire technical skills that benefits their future and that of a thriving Rwanda.

In Kivumu, a rural farming village in Southern Rwanda, the Padri Vjeko Centre (PVC), a TVET school is breaking barriers in providing formal education to poor rural youth in vocations such as Masonry, Electricity, Welding and Tailoring. These skills are helping to reduce unemployment and improve the economic situation of the village. A new form of inspirational leadership is also evident within this institution. 70% of trainers in the school graduated from the same institution and are also from the village. This has created a combination of skills training and mentorship for students who attend this TVET school. The cultivation of leaders that are within hands reach is providing an inspiration for the young people that live in this village. And so, the combination of skills training by trainers and leaders who are from the village is creating a holistic form of both formal and informal education. This paper seeks to retrace the steps from the set up of the school to creating leaders and trainers from the village who provide both formal and informal training for young people.