Efforts are underway to develop a standardized teaching and training manual for Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) in Liberia.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has begun a three-day stakeholders’ symposium in Monrovia.
With the numerous TVET training centers in Liberia, the workshop aims to create a curriculum that will synchronize the education of young people seeking vocational skills to better their lives.
The symposium, which is taking place at the Bella Casa Hotel in Monrovia, is aimed at developing a national curriculum for the teaching and training of TVET in Liberia, a Youth and Sports Ministry’s press release said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the UNESCO sponsored workshop, Minister D. Zeogar Wilson said the Liberian Government attaches importance to education through the TVET sector.
Minister Wilson said with the future of the country resting in the hands of the young people, it was significant for government to place emphasis on the TVET sector as the sector is cardinal to developing the skills of the youth.
He said having a standardized curriculum for the country is important as it will help improve the TVET sector of the country.
The Youth and Sports Minister said once the curriculum is developed, all TVET training entities in the country will have to operate in line with the curriculum.
He said it is government’s obligation to improve the lives of the young people; as such the provision of skills training remains high on the development agenda of Liberia.
UNESCO sees the creation of a commission to regulate the provision of TVET training in Liberia as cardinal for the man-power development of Liberia.
As such, the curriculum, when developed, will provide the right corridor for training and teaching of TVET courses as is done in other parts of the world.
At the start of the workshop, UNESCO Program Specialist Dr. Saidou S. Jallow expressed gratitude to the Liberian Government and the National Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on TVET for prioritizing education and TVET in the face of the many development challenges facing Liberia.
Dr. Jallow noted that government’s prioritization of TEVET is a strong indication of government’s commitment to achieving goals #4 education and #5 of the sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which focus on education, decent work and economic growth.
He said addressing the challenges of youth unemployment requires that the youth are equipped with employable skills related to market demands.
To ensure this, he added that the TVET sub-sector must be efficiently governed, and an effective TVET delivery system put in place.
Dr. Jallow further said that a systemic re-examination and re-orientation of the nation’s TVET system is required in order to position TVET as an effective response to youth unemployment and underemployment.
The UNESCO Program Specialist said strengthening of capacities towards this end is a critical element in achieving an effective, efficient and sustainable solution to youth unemployment.
UNESCO has been involved with efforts aimed at improving the TVET sector of Liberia since March 2014 with the setup of the framework of the capacity development for education (CapED) program, the Liberian government, UNESCO, World Bank, EU and other development partners held consultations and validated the National TVET Policy for 2015-2020.
This was followed by the drafting, development and validation of the National TVET Operational Plan which culminated in the validation of the TVET legislation in July 2016, now awaiting enactment into law.