The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Musa Ndow
30 November 2007
The seminar will contribute to the development and improvement of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) in West and Central Africa.
It was awarded in response to the need expressed by educators at sub-regional seminars in Dakar, Senegal and Yaounde, Cameroon in 2005 and 2006.
Launching the project, Musa Touray, principal higher education officer, who deputised for the permanent secretary at the Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, said TVET has taken an increasingly important role in the education system in The Gambia in recent years, as it is an important tool for socio-economic development.
"Since the products of our education system cannot all be absorbed by the public and private sectors, government has now focused its attention on TVET and guidance that will eventually lead to self-employment in the formal and non-formal sectors of the economy," he said.
He recognised the magnitude of efforts by the National Training Authority. He said the authority has been able to strengthen the institutional and management capacity of TVET systems in accordance with policy directives. According to him, this is evident in the establishment of a comprehensive Gambia Skills Qualifications Framework (GSOF) based on access, relevance and quality.
Ousman Nyang, director-general of the National Training Authority said the launching of the project will contribute immensely in fighting against the high rate of unemployment in Africa. He stressed that the development of working skills needs the full participation of all stakeholders.
According to him, the lack of trained manpower with relevant skills is one of the major factors that confornts rapid economic growth.
"It has been well established that the acquisition of appropriate skills-both technical and social, are required to cope with the challenges presented by the evolving needs of the work place. Education and training systems that respond adequately to these demands will contribute in efforts to overcome the growing unemployment and marginalisation of young people and adults especially in developing countries," he noted.
For his part, Dr Efison Munjanganja, head of UNEVOC, said the mobile training team is a multi-faceted method through, which several dimensions of issues like capacity building can be addressed fairly.
In the context of the UNEVOC network and its centres, he said the MIT offers opportunities to reinforce networking by building trust among the educators in the team and intensifying joint action along the way.
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