Technical and Vocational Training in Sierra Leone Receives Boost.

Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) in Sierra Leone has received a major boost in the form of computerized equipment and mechanical tools worth €180,000. The donation was made under the Project on TVET, which is a component of the Support to the Education Sector in Sierra Leone (SESSiL). The project aims to improve management and delivery of technical and vocational education in Sierra Leone through cooperation with the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE). The projected outcome is that TVET students will be armed with marketable skills that will enable them to enter the job market immediately after graduation.
Delegated to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Project on TVET is co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union. The recent donation of equipment went to the Murialdo Institute of Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology in Freetown, the Eastern Polytechnic in Kenema, the St. Josephs Technical Institute in Lunsar and the Government Technical Institute in Kissy. The equipment is intended to help teachers adopt a more practical-oriented approach to lessons and training, which will increase the skills and practical experience of all students.
Speaking at the formal handing over ceremony held at the Murialdo Institute of Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology, the Minister of Technical and Higher Education Professor Aiah Gbakima emphasized the need for investment in TVET. “It is only through Technical Vocational Education Training that the industrialization of Africa and Sierra Leone can be realized,” he remarked. He commended the Murialdo Institute for its “hands on” approach to teaching and learning, exemplified by the fact that the building in which the ceremony was being held, was actually constructed by students of the institute.
The Head of the EU Delegation in Sierra Leone, Ambassador Tom Vens echoed the importance of prioritizing TVET, describing it as the pathway to improved access to a relevant and skilled labour force. “We have to work on different strands together, to ensure that we can stimulate economic growth and jobs in Sierra Leone,” he said. “It is good to see that the Murialdo Institute of Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology is properly equipped, with motivated staff and students, who can inject skills into the economy. This is why I am very happy that the EU together with the GIZ can support this initiative, contributing basically to an economic environment that can deliver the jobs that are needed in society.”
Receiving the equipment, the Principal of the Murialdo Institute of Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology Brother Joseph Tarawally said he felt “overwhelmed” by the support. “The equipment will make difference,” he said. “Before now we had few tools, computerized equipment and relevant equipment. As a result of this increase in equipment, student interest has increased. For instance, we have moved from 5 to 15 students who want to be machinists and technicians.” He stressed on the need for TVET to be taken more seriously by the nation as a whole. “Most of the jobs that we need in the country are being taken by foreigners because our youth are not equipped with the necessary skills. The inputs received by EU and GIZ will, however, change this situation,” he said.
After the formal ceremony, guests were taken on a conducted tour of the Institute’s facilities. The tour included an inspection of the institutes 12 departments, which include a metal and iron fabrication workshop, tailoring and textiles, and electrical switching facility and computer training. Aminata K. Kargbo is one of 300 students at the institute and the only woman in the Metal, Welding and Fabrication Section. The new trainee aims to become a mechanical technician. Excited at the arrival of new machinery and equipment, her message was clear, “I started this programme after completing a computer course. I want to inform other young ladies like myself, that becoming a mechanical technician does not mean that you are a dropout. If you train well, you will be able to open your own workshop and employ others.”
GIZ Project Manager Dr Siegfried Berg noted that in its bid to improve the management and delivery of technical and vocational education and training in Sierra Leone, the Project on TVET prioritizes:
• a diagnostic study of the TVET sector;
• the development and implementation of a skills certification programme;
• an In-Service Teacher Training programme and
• the eventual establishment of a digital communication platform
“The In-Service teacher training programme is being undertaken in close cooperation with 6 partner institutions,” he noted. “It also includes the training of Master Trainers, the training of In-Service Teachers and the procurement of workshop equipment.”