The consultation aimed to promote cooperation among the African Member States in order to share their experiences in the field of technical and vocational education, identify common problems encountered and successful innovations, and promote this subsector of education which is vital for the development of Africa. It was organized at a time when African countries were facing enormous economic difficulties, which put strong pressure on such sectors as teaching, training, health and employment and it became vital to review technical and vocational education (TVE) policies, particularly with a view to reinforcing small and medium-size enterprises, the informal sector, and training for self-employment. The conclusions and recommendations put forward by the consultation should place Africa in a favourable position for the Second International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education.

Six plenary meetings (panels) were held after the opening ceremony corresponding to the six topics adopted for the Second International Congress. The six major topics were all related to the main theme of the consultation, namely, "Technical and Vocational Education faced with the challenges of the twenty-first century in Africa". The topics were introduced by high-level specialists, researchers, academics and decision-makers, who defined the problems raised by the various topics, identified certain issues, and placed them later in an African context, steering the discussions.