Togo's continuing education system combines formal, non-formal and informal learning. Formation professionnelle continue (FPC) updates or deepens occupational skills, supports promotion and helps people change professional direction. Short vocational courses, called formations de courte durée (FCD), are designed around labour-market needs, practical work and self-employment. Under the national strategy, these modular courses generally last about three months to one year and can combine a professional title with cumulative specialist modules. Reported programmes included 2,307 beneficiaries, including 1,595 women and 318 people with disabilities, while regional capacity remains below demand. The main public bodies are the Ministère chargé de l'Enseignement Technique, de la Formation Professionnelle et de l'Apprentissage (METFPA), the Fonds National d'Apprentissage, de Formation et de Perfectionnement Professionnels (FNAFPP), the Institut National de Formation et de Perfectionnement Professionnels (INFPP) and the regional CRETFP centres. INFPP operates in Lomé and has an antenna in Kara. CRETFP centres cover Maritime and Lomé, Plateaux and Kpalimé, Kara, and Savanes and Dapaong. Employers, artisan groups, trade unions, professional associations, NGOs and private training firms provide additional routes. The FNAFPP is a public administrative institution established by Law No. 2010-010. It finances all or part of training requested by companies, organisations, unions or labour-market projects, including for the formal sector, informal work and artisan activities. A company generally needs to pay the regular payroll tax and submit a training plan. Collective projects from informal groups, NGOs, associations or public administrations may also qualify. Eligible purposes include skills improvement, retraining, promotion and integration. The process normally requires a form, trainer CVs, project documents and tax or institutional evidence, followed by a technical visit, technical committee review and decision by the management committee. Private providers seeking FNAFPP financing need authorisation, currently described as valid for two years; a 2020 guide listed a form fee of FCFA 50,000, but the current published page does not repeat that amount. Public structures are authorised within their established competence areas. Other providers should be checked for authorisation, course quality, fees, assessment and the document issued at the end. There is no national learner fee list, individual continuing-education account or generally established entitlement comparable to a personal training account. Duration and payment depend on the programme and provider, and applications are often handled institutionally or through an employer at a physical service desk rather than through a complete digital portal. Adult and youth literacy is provided through Alphabétisation et Éducation Non Formelle (AENF), meaning literacy and non-formal education. National programmes address people aged 15 and above, and the SNAENF 2024–2028 strategy supports updated curricula, annual evaluation and pilot use of Ewe and Kabiyè. The reported average was about 11,675 learners per year from 2013 to 2023. AENF also functions as a second-chance pathway, although gaps remain in standards, digital tools, teacher preparation, assessment, certification, funding and training conditions. Teacher development has a dedicated distance-learning platform and app. The Carte unique de compétences (CUC), or single competence card, records completed teacher training; its first cohort included 2,687 beneficiaries in 2023. The INFPP also provides initial and continuing training for trainers. Decree No. 2025-026/PC of 14 October 2025 created legal pathways between general, technical, vocational and tertiary education and recognised formal, non-formal and experience-based learning. Validation des acquis de l'expérience (VAE) assesses competences gained through work or other experience. Depending on the programme, a learner may receive an attestation, professional title or diploma. The new pathways remain partly at pilot stage: one competence-assessment pilot lasts 12 months, uses 60% ongoing assessment and 40% final assessment, and private accreditation is described as lasting four years with required disclosure of fees, success rates and learner-protection information. These rules do not create automatic recognition of every course or a universal transfer of credits. The national employment plan includes support for vulnerable participants, including scholarships, training kits, adaptations and possible fee waivers for people with disabilities. No general right to paid educational leave has been established. Self-directed learning and employer-based training remain possible, but formal recognition depends on the provider, the assessment and the applicable pathway.
Upskilling in Togo
Upskilling in Togo includes professional training, short courses, retraining, literacy programmes and competence development for employees, artisans, teachers and jobseekers. Provision is established but fragmented across public institutions, employers, professional organisations, NGOs and private providers. Courses may lead to an attendance certificate, professional title or diploma, but no universal continuing-education qualification or automatic transfer of credits applies.
Tip
Choose the training route according to the result you need: job skills, retraining, a formal qualification or recognition of existing experience. Verify the provider, assessment, total cost and final document before committing time or money. Employer or project-based funding may be more realistic than relying on an individual funding entitlement.

