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GFP International

UPON COMPLTION OF OUR ELEVEN COUNTRY AFRICAN TOUR A History in Pictures

Raising African Skills to World Class Standards
Trade School Technology Transfer
Welding School Centers of Excellence
Centers for Manufacturing Skills and Technologies

African Skills and Development Group Ltd. was established in 2024 as a sister organization to GFP International to serve as a project management implementation team for welding school modernization projects across Africa and provide a conduit for graduates of industrial welding schools who have been taught the skills for an industrial work force. Current practices in welding schools outside of South Africa only teach ornamental welding skills, which do not prepare students to meet the needs of the coming industrialization boom in Africa. GFP International is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the upgrading of trade skill education in Africa as described on its website found at this link: https://www.gfp-intl.org/This page provides a brief history of GFP International and African Skills and Development Group Ltd. GFP International has a history that dates to 2005 when its founder visited Matamba Tanzania, a small village located in the southern highlands of Tanzania in the Njombe District.

2005

In 2005, it was the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic when our founder first visited Africa. Feeling grateful after recovering from a life-threatening illness, Mike Vallez reached out to various faiths in Minnesota where he lived and found a group of like-minded people to join hands and work together. Meeting every month, this coalition became known as Global Faith Partners. One thing led to another, and GFP became involved in working with Father Augustine Mbiche, a Catholic Priest in the town of
Matamba, Tanzania. During a visit to Tanzania in 2005, Father Mbiche showed Mike Vallez a piece of land where he hoped to build an elementary school. Saint Monica’s Elementary School is now thriving, teaching subjects in English, with students scoring in the top 3% of nationally administered tests.

2019

St. Monica’s is now a thriving k-7 elementary school, but the students do not have an equivalent high quality secondary school to attend in the Matamba area. Global Faith Partners was asked to help raise funds for a secondary boarding school, when the decision was made to create a formal non-profit NGO, now called GFP International.

2019

Five years later, Saint Monica’s Secondary school is nearing completion, and grades 8 and 9 (Form 1 and 2) have started classes.

2022 - 2023

Beginning with a small idea to install some welding machines in St. Monica’s Secondary school, GFP International has expanded its mission to support existing vocational schools across Africa to raise skill standards to world class levels, starting with the welding trade

After a 2022 meeting with the Honorable January Makamba, Tanzania’s Minister of Energy, GFP came to understand the depth of the skill gap problem in Africa and decided to embrace the challenge. The rest is history.

January 2023

GFP leaders and advisors with welding students at the VETA School in Linde, Tanzania

January 2023

GFP International Chairman and Welding Advisory Team with Dr. Noel Mbonde, Tanzanian Director of Technical Education. From left to right: Nick Price, Director of Welding Training at Davis County Technical School, Ogden, Utah; Ryan Eubank, welding consultant and trainer, Cleveland, Ohio; Dr. Noel Mbonde, Director of Technical Training, Dodoma Tanzania; Michael Vallez, Chairman/CEO of GFP International, Salt Lake City, Utah; Subu Mpapane, South African metallurgical engineer, industrial contractor, welding expert.

Special Partnering Meeting with Dr. Noel Mbonde, Director of Technical Education and Hon Adolf Mkenda, Member of Parliament, and Minister of Education, Republic of Tanzania.

January 2023

With Mr. Fihili Challenge, DAB Coordinator, and Ms. Anna Nyoni, Curriculum Developer, Vocational Training and Education Authority (VETA)

January 2023

With Mr. Anthony Kasore, Director General of VETA (Oversees 43 existing training centers with 23 under construction)

October 2022

Michael Vallez and Dunford Mpelumbe meeting with Father Boniface Mchami, Principal of Don Bosco Technical School and his instructors in Dodoma, Tanzania.

August 2023

Michael Vallez, GFP Chairman/CEO with Tanzanian Ambassador to the U.S., H.E. Elise Kanza

June 2022

Michael Vallez, Chairman/CEO of GFP International meeting with Father Waldemar Jonatowski, Principal of Don Bosco Vocational School, Dar es Salaam

June 2022

Michael Vallez, Chairman/CEO of GFP International meeting with Mr. Joseph Mwanda, Principal of VETA Vocational School, Dar es Salaam.

January 2023

With Mr. Khalid Songoro, President, Songoro Marine and Shipbuilding, the largest employer of welders in Tanzania

June 2022

Michael Vallez, Chairman/CEO of GFP International, meeting with Mr. Khalid Songoro, President of Songoro Marine shipbuilders in Dar es Salaam.

January 2023

Ryan Eubank, GFP Advisor, doing some coaching with one of the welding students.

January 2023

GFP International leadership and advisory team with VETA Principal Harry Mmari and his team at VETA school in Lindi Tanzania.

January 2023

Ryan Eubank enjoying the camaraderie with future welders in Lindi, Tanzania.

January 2023

With Mr. Ally Msaki, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Employment and Skills Development, Republic of Tanzania

January 2023

With Father Waldemar Jonatowski, Principal of Don Bosco Trade School, Dar es Salaam

January 2023

Enjoying an evening over dinner with a Tanzanian Welders Association (Sadly, none of these men or their welder friends could get hired on the EACOP Pipeline Project)

October 2022

Michael Vallez accepting the walking stick gift from Matambile Mgemaa, Massai leader near Ruaha National Park.

October 2022

Michael Vallez, Chairman/CEO of GFP International meeting with Mr. Stanslaus Mtibara, Principal of VETA Dodoma.

January 2023

With Father Waldemar Jonatowski, Principal of Don Bosco Trade School, Dar es Salaam

The next opportunity, Electrical.

September 2023

With Dr. Violet Kajubiri Froelich and Uganda’s Education Service Commission she Chairs.

September 2023

With the Leadership of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET_ Authority in Kenya

September 2023

Nakawa Technical Training Center, Kampala Uganda

September 2023

At the Don Bosco St. Joseph Vocational Training Center, Kamuli, Uganda

September 2023

At the Morendat Institute of Oil and Gas, Kenya Pipeline Company, Nairobi, Kenya

September 2023

Lugogo Vocational Training Institute, Kampala, Uganda

November 2023

With Hon Lela Mussa, Zanzibar Minister of Education and Vocational Training

September 2023

Mkokotoni Vocational Training Center Zanzibar Vocational Training Authority

September 2023

At the Karume Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Republic of Zanzibar

November 2023

With Engineer Zena Said, First Secretary, United Republic of Zanzibar

November 2023

With the Rwanda TVET Board, Kigali, Rwanda

October 2023

Mike Vallez, Hilu Bura and Nancy Halden, at the African Investment Conference London, England

November 2023

At Don Bosco Boys Town Vocational Training Center, Nairobi, Kenya

September 2023

At Don Bosco Gatenga Vocational School, Kigali, Rwanda

November 2023

At the South African Institute of Welding (SAIW) in Johannesberg, S. Africa

January 2024 With Leaders at the American Welding Society Back Row. Left to Right

Brenda Boddiger, Program Manager, Qualification & Certification; Stephen Snyder, Regional Director, Welding Technology Services-Asia, Africa, Oceania

Front Row, Left to Right

Left to Right, (unknown), Richard Arn, V.P., Welding and Technology; Michael Vallez, Founder, GFP International; Cassandra Scheffer, Director of Accreditation; Efram Abrams, Senior Sales Executive; Nathan Carter,

May 2024 East African Lecture Tour

Currently, there are no trade schools in East Africa that are sufficiently equipped or staffed to teach modern industrial welding.

In May 2024, an East African lecture tour was conducted by GFP International Founder Michael Vallez and project manager Brian Masicha. AWS executives, Steve Snyder and Ramesh Shankaran joined for the Nairobi Kenya portion of the tour, as well as Dr. Kipikirui, Director General/CEO of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority; Dr. Paul Wanyeki, Deputy Director of the Kenya TVET, and Mr. Ruto Lyoba, Director of the East African Institute of Welding. The group visited and spoke with technical and vocational schools. Speaking to nearly 1,000 students, these young men and women learned about the key role of welding in an industrial economy. It is hoped that they will become advocates for positive change in the quality of trade skill training, and industrial welding.

Kenya Portion

Kenya School of TVET
Kabete National Polytechnic
Kiambui Institute of Science and Technology
Technical University of Mombasa
The Kenya Coast National Polytechnic
Bandari Marine Technology

Rwanda Tour

St. Charles de Jesus Trade School
ADEF TVET School
Gacuriro Technical School

Zanzibar Tour

Karume Institute of Science and Technology

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tour

Don Bosco Oyster Bay Vocational School
University of Dar es Salaam, School of Engineering and Technology

Mike Vallez lecture about industrial welding skills to vocational trainers at the Kenya School of TVET

Steve Snyder, American Welding Society, lecturing at the Kenya School of TVET

Lecture at the Bandari Maritime Academy, Mombasa, Kenya

Integrated Polytechnic Regional College, Kigali, Rwanda

With trade school students at the Karume Institute of Science and Technology. Zanzibar

Welding and Industrial Students at Don Bosco School, Oyster Bay, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Upon completion of the East African lecture tour, and consultation with legal counsel in the U.S. and East African countries, GFP International learned of the complexities of forming, registering and operating a non-profit organization in multiple jurisdictions with different and cumbersome rules and regulations regarding non-profit entities. Every school visited would require modern equipment and more space to graduate the same number of students, but with internationally recognized skills. Fund managers need on-site observation to provide assurance and auditability to donors. Welding school graduates need access to good paying jobs, both in and outside of Africa. The founder of GFP International decided to form a regular US corporate shell with the intent to form subsidiaries in multiple African countries with local shareholders to help build a sustainable enterprise that would help achieve the goals and objectives of GFP International. The idea of African Skills and Development Ltd. was born, doing business as African Skills and Development Group Ltd.

NIGERIA 2025

In Port Harcourt Nigeria with our new friend, Mazi Sam Azoka Onyechi, President of the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN); Member of the Governing Counsel of the Nigerian Local Content Development & Monitoring Board; and CEO of Inspection and Testing Nigeria Ltd. whose clients include but are not limited to all the domestic and international energy, mining, and manufacturing companies in Nigeria.

Don Bosco training center in Abuja, Nigeria

National Center for Technology Management

Institute for Industrial Training (IIT) Center, Lagos

The Proposed Kaduna Welding School Team

The Petroleum Training Institute, Warri, Nigeria

Homik Oil and Gas Facility Engineering School

ICON Lifting & Rigging Inspections and Training Center

Federal Ministry of Youth Development Abuja Nigeria

Harmattan City Institute of Welding and Fabrication

Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology Ikere-Ekiti

With David Okechukwu

Director of the Institute of Industrial Technology (IIT) in Lagos Nigeria and his brothers in the Opus Dei Organization.

WIth Father James

At the John Bosco Institute of Technology in Ondo, Nigeria.t the John Bosco Institute of Technology in Ondo, Nigeria.

With Professor Leo Adegun

Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Ado-Ekiti and his lovely wife, Maria. Honored to be a house guest with them and their wonderful family.

With Father Samuel Agudosi

Rector at the West Africa Don Bosco Center in Lagos, Nigeria.

With Professor Michael Ugota Awoke

Vice Chancellor of Ebonyi State University in Enugu State, Nigeria, visiting construction site of a university expansion project.
Tour of the Accra Ghana Technical Training Center.

With Engr. Dr. Eric Kofi Adzroe

Director General of Ghana’s TVET Services with over 100 vocational schools in Ghana.

GHANA - 2025

In Douala Cameroon. From L to R: With Erick Wanffeu of Petrocertif Consulting; Fr. Fabien BETENE EBANDA, Engineering Department Head, Ecole Normale Superieure d’ Enseignement Technique (ENSET); Rodriguz Ndoudjeu of Petrocertif Consulting.
In the welding training workshop at the Training Center for Professional Excellence of Douala (Cameroon) with L to R: Rodriguz Ndoudjeu; (yours truly); Amadou Bobbi, General Director; and Dr. Benoit Ndiwe, Department Head.
Meeting with vocational school leaders in Cameroon on July 25, 2025

CAMEROON - 2025

KENYA 2025

In discussions between GFP International and a leadership team of the 70,000 student Kenyatta University in Nairobi Kenya about creating a Center for Manufacturing Skills and Technologies. A modern welding training center would be a cornerstone of this new center that will serve to equip students with the skills needed by employers in Africa’s transformation. It would also engage the mechanical, electrical and other departments plus industry to create the innovative Center for Manufacturing Skills and Technologies.

We are extremely pleased to share that the Don Bosco Africa leader, Father Maximus Okoro (Second from left) has offered to assist GFP International with community engagement and feasibility services for all of our welding school projects, whether they are Don Bosco projects or others. The Don Bosco organization has over 115 vocational schools in 35 African countries, and hundreds more across the globe. There are more than 3,600 Don Bosco schools and over 800 vocational training centers worldwide. They are operated by the Salesian Priests, Brothers and lay teachers and staff. Community engagement will be a key element in achieving our goal of 30 welding centers of excellence across Africa, supporting the rapid industrialization, job creation, and poverty reduction that is starting to take shape.

At the Morendat Institute of Oil and Gas with Mikail Tomno, CWI Inspector and Welding Instructor

ETHIOPIA 2025

Meet the top-notch welding, fabrication and manufacturing training administrators and faculty at Ethiopia’s highly acclaimed Center of Excellence for Engineering and Welding Training and Technology Center in Addis Ababa. Dr. Selamu Yisihak Handiso, CEO; Tesfaye Gurmesa, Lead Executive for Technology Design, Development and Manufacturing; Dr. Habtamu Mulugeta, Deputy Director General for Research and Community Service; Fantahun Yemana, Lead Executive for International Welding Certification; Besufekad Fayisa, Technology Design and Fabrication Quality control and Assurance Senior Expert.

UGANDA 2025

Meet Engineer, Fabricator, Manufacturer, Educator, and Trainer, Mr. Sseziwba Ronald of the SEB Group of Companies in Uganda. He has emerged as a visionary thought leader and influential change agent in the vocational training sector in Uganda and beyond. An Electrical Engineer by Education, he has built an innovative and successful business in welding and steel related fields, and is committed to helping Uganda and Ugandans succeed in this changing world that demands more skilled labor.

TANZANIA / ZANZIBAR 2025 2025

We at GFP International are happy to be working to support the Karume Institute of Technology to create a welding school of excellence and underwater welding school for Africa. Zanzibar is home to numerous SCUBA diving shops and sites and is a perfect location to create a globally recognized destination for training underwater workers / welders to fit the coming offshore energy boom in Africa.

The Karume Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) was originally funded by the USAID in the 1960’s
KIST is situated on a large land plot close to the center of Zanzibar City.
Follow up meeting with Father Felix Wagi, newly assigned Principal of Don Bosco Oyster Bay vocational school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

MALAWI 2025

Lilongwe Technical College

Left to right: Mr Spencer Mkonya, Head of Electrical Section; Principal Suzgika Mvalo and Deputy Principal Ngugi Chilalika of the Lilongwe Technical College in Malawi, Africa. This institution and its students would most certainly benefit from the construction of a new modern welding school
Inside the Malawi Technical College welding department.
Inside the Malawi Technical College welding department.
Meet Mr. Kasembi, owner of the roadside welding business, KASEMBI WELDING. He obtained some limited welding training, and his 6 guys, with no formal training, earn about $100 per month doing piecework for customers of the shop. This $100 per month is on the low end of the $100 to $300 per month welder earnings in Malawi. I’ve visited dozens of roadside welding shops across Africa like this one and the conditions at KASEMBI WELDING are typical. No eye, skin protection or other safety gear; low pay; little to no job security; working in the open air; substandard equipment. We can change this! A certified and skilled industrial welder in Africa can make as much as a medical doctor. He or she can help build a real economy.
Dinner meeting with the Honorable Timothy Mtambo, human rights advocate and member of the Malawi Parliament, and his lovely wife, Sally Mtambo, member of GFP International’s Blue-Ribbon Committee and legal counsel for Malawi Electric. Two marvelous individuals and now friends.

At the Harare Institute of Technology, Harare, Zimbabwe

The Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) is a 3,000 student Zimbabwean university focused on science, engineering, and technology (SET) programs. It was established in 1988 as a National Vocational Training Centre and gained degree-awarding status in 2005. HIT aims to be a leader in technology-based education and research, with a focus on innovation and “technopreneurship”.
L to R: Sibusiso Mpapane, Co-Chairman, GFP International; Willard Gwarimbo, Vice Chancellor; Michael Vallez, Founder, GFP; Leo Kusema, Division of Quality Assurance.
We found the term “technopreneurship” for the first time across Africa.

Dinson Iron and Steel Plant – Phase 1

Dinson Iron and Steel in Zimbabwe is setting a new global standard in the steel making industry. A town with a population of 45,000 will soon appear, and a welding training center of excellence.
Met with Engineer Munashe Chihambakwe and Twanda Mutsvangwa of Dinson Iron and Steel to discuss a welding center of excellence.

MOZAMBIQUE – 2025

Capping off my eleven country, eight-week development and lecture tour, I had a wonderful meeting with the Mozambique Minister of Education on July 24th, Ms. Samaria Tovela, and her team. Like all African countries I’ve visited, Mozambique leaders are eager and ready to push the agenda for raising industrial skills to world class levels. I feel so blessed to have been called to this work where I can meet such delightful people and dedicated leaders. After meeting with Mozambique’s Minister of Education, we were afforded a visit to the Matola Institute of Technology Welding School that was created with funding from the Republic of South Korea. We applaud the generosity and good intentions of Korea.However, despite the high quality of the equipment and infrastructure the school still does not meet the needs of industrial industries. The curriculum only gives welders 10 hours of skill practice per week, for a total of 110 hours of skill practice, while experience tells us that it takes 4O0 hours of skill practice to prepare students to pass international skill testing standards for welder certification. This 400 hours costs money to purchase the consumable materials to gain 400 hours of skill practice. This is a common problem we have found in all African welding schools, meaning that the students at this school are not ready to gain employment on the many industrial welding projects that need these skilled welders. The answer is to provide scholarships to students to cover the added material costs, and modify the curriculum accordingly.