Ten serving TVET staff will be trained as the inaugural group of TVET teacher trainers, who will help to initiate the programme through the TVET Center for Professional Training, Research and Innovation (TCPTRI) based at the Booker Washington Institute. The Häme University of Applied Science from Finland will provide the training.

This 24-month TVET Teacher Trainer Training course by Häme University will be delivered through a blended training programme that includes week-intensive face-to-face training sessions in Liberia and Finland and remote learning.

The trainees will develop two curricula as part of this TVET Teacher training course. The “pre-service TVET teacher training” curriculum will target newly recruited TVET teachers. In contrast, the “in-service TVET teacher training” curriculum will target serving TVET teachers in a hands-on way, using theory, knowledge and practical experience.

Häme University of Applied Sciences, also known as HAMK, is a multidisciplinary, workplace-orientated higher education institution based in Finland. HAMK offers 29 Bachelor’s degree programs, 13 Master’s degree programs and professional teacher education.

Mr. Jecob Swee, Vice Principal for Instruction at the Booker Washington Institute and one of the beneficiaries of this training course, started by expressing his gratitude to the Government of Liberia and its partners for the establishment of the TVET. “Especially me, I’m over excited to be one of those benefiting from these experienced trainers from Finland”, said Mr. Swee.

He further shared his expectations of the training. “From the discussion over the past few days and the professional backgrounds of the trainers from Finland, it made me anticipate that we are going to draw from their pool of experiences that will prepare us to introduce the category of TVET instruction that is going to prepare our learners to be more practical”. Mr. Swee added that after the training, he is certain to introduce new teaching methods that include the use of available resources.

In 2018, the Government of Liberia received funding from the European Union and the Government of Sweden through the “Youth Rising” and the “Promoting Youth Employment” projects to strengthen the Liberian TVET sector in its capacity to deliver equitable and gender-balanced access to high-quality and demand-driven TVET for young Liberians.

Finding professional and well-trained teachers with modern technical skills is one of the many challenges faced by the TVET sub-Sector of Liberia. To tackle this challenge, the Government of Liberia and its partners established the TVET Centre for Professional Teacher Training and Research (TCPTRI) In Kakata, Margibi County, in 2022.

The Center has been established as one of the operational units of the Booker Washington Institute (BWI) and has been designed to be a national hub to address many of the prevailing weaknesses associated with TVET human resource-related capabilities in Liberia. The Center’s mission is to stimulate and promote sustainable development, stability, adaptability, and/or resilience of Liberia’s national TVET system within the context of a globalized and ever-changing trading environment, as well as actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for human development.