Africa-Press – Liberia. The Director General of the Agricultural Industrial Training Bureau (AITB), Abraham Billy, has called for a renewed national commitment to strengthening Liberia’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, warning that despite important gains, persistent institutional fragmentation and systemic gaps threaten to undermine the country’s skills-development agenda.
Speaking at the Liberia National TVET Policy Dialogue held at Bella Casa Hotel, Billy issued a comprehensive and forward-looking special statement that outlined progress made, challenges that remain, and priority reforms needed to accelerate implementation of the 2022–2027 National TVET Policy.
The policy dialogue—organized by the Ministry of Education with support from UNESCO, UNIDO, and the AITB—brought together government ministries, private-sector actors, civil society organizations, TVET institutions, international partners, and members of the National Council for TVET.
The gathering marked the first major multi-stakeholder engagement since the government formally endorsed the National TVET Policy in June 2024 and launched the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), which prioritizes agriculture, education, and workforce development.
Director General Billy began his address by acknowledging recent gains in the sector, describing them as evidence that coordinated efforts can deliver real impact.
He praised the European Union–funded Youth Rising Project, describing its interventions as “remarkable,” noting improvements in instructor training, updated workshops, upgraded facilities, and the provision of modern learning tools.
“These achievements are not small; they represent a visible demonstration of what strong partnerships can accomplish,” he said.
Billy also highlighted two major infrastructure milestones, installation of agricultural training equipment at the Tumutu Training Center in Bong County, which he said “brings us closer to our vision of a modern, skills-driven agricultural workforce,” and expansion and modernization of training facilities at the Gaye Town Vocational Training Center, which is now positioned to serve a larger number of young people seeking access to market-relevant skills.
“These investments are transformative,” he said. “They expand opportunities for learners who depend on TVET as a pathway to employment and dignity.”
Billy commended MOE for developing and approving several competency-based curricula aligned with national labor market needs. He described the curricula as “a critical backbone for quality training across the country.”
He further noted that Liberia’s rollout of national TVET standards, accreditation systems, and the National Trade Test is positioning the country to build a skills-development framework “anchored on consistency, transparency, and global comparability.”
Billy sees coordination challenges as a persistent Gap, adding that despite major progress, significant and systemic gaps remain—many of them structural.
“The sector assessment conducted by AITB revealed persistent weaknesses,” he said, citing weak institutional coordination, instructor shortages, outdated equipment in several centers, insufficient monitoring systems, and gaps between training programs and industry needs.
But Billy’s strongest critique was reserved for what he described as Liberia’s long-standing coordination challenges.
“We must speak frankly about coordination challenges among national TVET institutions and policymakers,” Billy warned. “Fragmented planning, overlapping mandates, and weak harmonization slow our progress.”
He emphasized that without stronger alignment among ministries, agencies, development partners, and training institutions, Liberia risks diluting the potential impact of its policy commitments and reforms.
Liberia’s National TVET Policy was developed during the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) under UNESCO’s CapED program. Governance of the TVET sector was previously led by the Inter-Ministerial TVET Task Force (IMTTF), co-chaired by the Ministries of Youth & Sports and Education.
Although validated in 2021, the policy was never formally endorsed due to political transitions. Its adoption in June 2024 followed the appointment of new Ministers of Education and Youth & Sports—clearing the way for national rollout.
The establishment of the new AITB leadership, now serving as the Secretariat to the National Council for Vocational/Technical Education and Training (NCV/TET), officially marked the shift from IMTTF-led oversight to a more structured governance framework mandated by law.
The AAID—launched in January 2025—has further elevated TVET as a strategic pillar for job creation, agricultural transformation, and youth empowerment.
AITB Outlines a Clear Roadmap
In his statement, Billy proposed nine priority areas to strengthen TVET delivery and accelerate reform implementation. These include governance and coordination reform, quality assurance and standards, and relevant curriculum and training.
“Strengthen inter-agency coordination” and “clarify mandates,” he said, stressing the need for accountability and coherent implementation, as well as full implementation of accreditation guidelines and regular quality audits.”
He also spoke about updating competency-based curricula, industry engagement, and the integration of digital and green skills.
Additional reform initiatives Billy talked about include instructor development, highlighting the certification, upskilling, and improved retention incentives; Infrastructure and learning resources, modernized workshops, laboratories, and expanded use of digital learning; Access and inclusion, which has to do with higher opportunities for women, youth, rural communities, and persons with disabilities.
The issue of curtailing workforce linkages, which would be made possible through stronger apprenticeships and private-sector partnerships in agriculture, construction, ICT, and energy, sustainable financing, which has to do with diversification of funding, including performance-based financing, and monitoring, evaluation, and data systems—digitized TVET MIS and strengthened evidence-based planning were also highlighted.
Billy’s tone conveyed cautious optimism: the sector is progressing, but reforms must accelerate. Analysts note that three issues will determine Liberia’s success: Whether institutions can overcome coordination failures, the TVET system has historically struggled with overlapping mandates.
Billy’s direct call for reform indicates that the issue remains unresolved; Whether financing can be sustained, donor support is shrinking, and domestic financing is limited. Sustainable funding will define the future of TVET expansion, and whether training becomes truly industry-driven, the ongoing mismatch between training and employment opportunities remains a major barrier to job creation.
Billy concluded his statement with a call to collective responsibility, “We have made meaningful progress, but significant work remains,” he emphasized. “If we strengthen coordination, deepen partnerships, modernize training delivery, and uphold quality standards, Liberia’s TVET system will become a powerful engine for national development.”
He urged stakeholders to move with “renewed commitment, shared responsibility, and a united vision—to build a TVET ecosystem that empowers every Liberian to learn, work, and thrive.”
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