By: Lamin B. Darboe
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission last week organised a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Stakeholders’ Meeting in Banjul.
The meeting brought together representatives of Member States, development partners and experts in the field of TVET to validate a draft Action Plan based on the ECOWAS TVET Strategy for Skills Improvement and Employability (ETSSIE).
The draft Action Plan aims to respond to the current and future challenges of TVET sector by providing measures to improve the quality of education and vocational training, adapt to labor market needs and promote entrepreneurship.
On behalf of the Honorable Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Fatou Sow SARR, the Director of Education, Science and Culture Prof. Abdoulaye MAGA, expressed gratitude to experts and partners for participating in the important technical meeting. He thanked the people and the Government of The Gambia for hosting the meeting.
The Director highlighted ECOWAS’ commitment to promoting TVET as an essential lever for the economic and social development of the region. He called upon stakeholders to contribute and add value in the draft Action Plan.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education of The Gambia, Dr Yusupha Touray, in his statement highlighted the importance of TVET as an essential instrument for the development and increase of standard human capital, improvement of skills and employability in the region. He stated that human development plays a valid role in the national, regional and global development. He stressed the need for socio-economic development in low-income countries.
At the meeting, participants discussed the impacts of the pandemic on the TVET sector and proposed adjustments, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure adaptive and sustainable implementation of the Action Plan. They also stressed the importance of regional cooperation, exchange of experiences and emerging innovation to strengthen the resilience of the TVET sector.
By providing a concrete and operational roadmap, the validated Action Plan will serve as a key instrument to transform the vision of the ECOWAS TVET Strategy for Skills Improvement and Employability (ETSSIE) into concrete actions, thereby promoting inclusive growth, sustainable job creation and a significant improvement of skills and employability in the ECOWAS region.
The ECOWAS TVET Stakeholders’ Meeting strengthened the collective commitment to quality education and vocational training in the region. The Action Plan was adopted at the end of the three days technical meeting.
