Government officials, education leaders, employers and partners met in Erbil and Baghdad on September 1 to discuss micro-credentials in Iraq’s technical and vocational education system. A UNICEF statement dated September 2 says the workshops were organized by UNICEF and ILO with UNHCR, and considered how short, flexible credentials could document young people’s skills.

Participants discussed quality assurance, accreditation and recognition, including how credentials could recognize skills held by refugees, displaced people and returnees. They agreed on a roadmap for a pilot and a National Technical Working Group to guide design and integration into Iraq’s training system. This is a planning stage; no nationwide system, enrolment total or job-placement result was reported.