Senior government officials, education leaders, employers and development partners met in Erbil and Baghdad to explore how micro-credentials could strengthen Iraq's technical and vocational education and training system, UNICEF said in a press release published on 2 September 2026. The workshops, jointly organized by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization with UNHCR, examined how short, flexible and recognized qualifications can help learners gain in-demand skills.

The ILO presented global trends in micro-credentials, describing them as practical, easy to verify and portable, and able to be combined into larger qualifications. UNICEF shared its work connecting learning to jobs through short certified courses. UNHCR stressed helping refugees, internally displaced people, returnees and host communities show skills often used in informal work. Participants included officials from the federal and Kurdistan Region ministries of education, higher education, and labour and social affairs, along with training and accreditation specialists.

The workshops concluded with agreement on a roadmap for the pilot initiative, including establishing a National Technical Working Group to guide design, governance and integration of micro-credentials within the national education and training system, according to the release.