The CircuWasteVETAfrica Heatmap is a visual tool developed to strengthen the connection between Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions and the evolving needs of the green and circular economy sector in Africa.

The heatmap provides a comprehensive overview of how the expertise and existing training offer of VET institutions in Ghana, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Namibia align with the real needs of stakeholders operating across the waste management and circular economy sector.

It was developed based on the stakeholder mapping and skills gaps analysis carried out during the first year of the project. Through interviews, surveys, and consultations with public authorities, SMEs, VET providers, and industry actors, the consortium identified current workforce gaps, emerging green skills demands, and opportunities for collaboration between training institutions and industry stakeholders. The analysis highlighted several priority competence areas, including: circular waste management, technical waste management skills, advanced waste technologies, safety and compliance, entrepreneurship and green business, financial and project management, digital tools, community engagement, and public–private cooperation (PPP).

In parallel, the project also mapped existing best practices in circular waste management in Angola, Namibia, São Tomé and Ghana. These findings created opportunities for knowledge exchange, peer learning, and the foundation for the CircuWasteVETAfrica Train-the-Trainer programme.

Led by the Ramseyer Vocational Technical Institute, Ghana, with contributions from VIS Angola, Centro de Formação Profissional de São Tomé e Príncipe, and the Swakopmund Municipality, Namibia, the heatmap was developed to graphically show skills that are highly sought after by stakeholders in the green waste management sector.

The heatmap represents an important step towards identifying concrete opportunities for future public-private partnerships, labour-market-oriented training offers, and added-value TVET services beyond the duration of the project. These collaboration opportunities will continue to be explored and discussed during the next phase of CircuWasteVETAfrica activities.