Liberia: Marylanders to Get TVET Center
The center, the first of its kind to be initiated by the government in the county since the 1980s, is an extension of the revered Cape Palmas High School.
.... The issue of TVET skill gaps in Liberia is a significant challenge for the country's workforce and economy. The lack of skilled workers in key sectors such as construction, agriculture, hospitality, ICT, and entrepreneurship limits the country's ability to meet the demands of the labor market and reduces its competitiveness and economic growth potential.
Thousands of young Liberians in Maryland County and other southeastern counties are expected to shortly begin acquiring mid-career technical skills from a technical and vocational training center that is being constructed in Harper, Maryland County.
The construction of the center, the first of its kind to be initiated by the government in the county since the 1980s, is an extension of the revered Cape Palmas High School.
The issue of TVET skill gaps in Liberia is a significant challenge for the country's workforce and economy. The lack of skilled workers in key sectors such as construction, agriculture, hospitality, ICT, and entrepreneurship limits the country's ability to meet the demands of the labor market and reduces its competitiveness and economic growth potential.
According to our correspondent, the project would be the first TVET center in Maryland for 15 years — playing a key role in the county’s drive to have most of its youthful population have access to technical skills. The center, when completed, will offer ICT, electrical, automotive, welding and fabrication, agriculture technology, as well as woodwork/carpentry training to those who cannot afford a university education.
“The successful implementation and maintenance of the project will help solve Liberia’s major challenge of finding employment opportunities for its youths who constitute more than half of the labor force with the key objectives of increasing economic growth opportunities,” said Cape Palmas High School Principal, Annie Slewion.
“Several computers, carpentry, tailoring, and welding equipment have already been installed in the building,” Slewion added. “The project is important as many young people are socially and economically marginalized — lacking employable skills. So this project would help reduce the risk thereof to national security, social cohesion, and stability.”
The construction of the Maryland TVET center was funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. It is under the auspices of the EU-GOL ‘Youth Rising’ program.