Technical and Vocational Education and Training Programs and the Labor Market Demand in Liberia

Introduction

Like many countries in the sub-Saharan region, Liberia struggles to employ for its large youth population. The government has resolved to switch from its current informal economy to a more streamline financial system by implementing a strategy of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Through TVET, Liberia hopes to improve its labor market to reach those levels recommended by the International Labor Organization. In this essay, we shall examine the impact of TVET on the labor market demand, with emphasis on the youth population between the ages of 15 and 35. To tackle youth unemployment, the government of Liberia should draft policies and strategies that empower the youths to engage in job-creating economic activities, especially through entrepreneurship.

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Statement of Problem

According to the International Labor Organization, labor market concerns in Liberia include those of quantity and quality of jobs available for the populace (Mel, Elder, & Vansteenkiste, 2013). The basic educational system in Liberia fails to equip Liberians with the skills they need to make a livelihood for themselves. Of the 45.9% of youths who finish secondary school education, only 4.7% went on to acquire a university or college level education. The result is a country that has too high a demand for low-skill jobs and also an oversupply of the specialized skills that drive the economy to create jobs. These specialized skills are rendered useless in a country where resources to spur economic growth are scant (Dukuly, 2014). Hindrances to acquiring educational services include poor road and power infrastructure, a factor that also hinders economic growth.

As a third-world country, Liberia lacks the resources, both capital and human, that would pull it out of the unemployment quagmire it is in. With an economy that grows at a very slow rate, Liberia's job market is virtually stagnant, so much so that even the meager 4.7% of university graduates cannot all find employment opportunities (Mel et al., 2013). An overreliance on indigenous agriculture as the major source of employment means that the job market shifts seasonally with the agricultural calendar.

Background

While Liberia was one of the only two countries that were not colonized in Africa, it went through a period of civil strife in the last half of the twentieth century that ruined its economy. After several coups and civil wars, rebels took the country hostage as they exploited its rich deposits of natural minerals like diamonds. Critical infrastructure like roads, health facilities, education institutions, and essential resources were destroyed during the conflict, meaning that the path to recovery has been fraught with serious challenges. In the post-conflict period, the country has sought to recover its lost glory by invigorating its labor market as a means of creating greater economic stimulus.

In cooperation with the International Labor Organization, the government of Liberia has embarked on a mission to turn around the fortunes of the country by stimulating the labor market. Starting with a master plan in 2008, Liberia has sought to turn around the state of its labor market, mainly by driving up demand and increasing the quality of jobs available in the market. Through technical and vocational education and training, opportunities are created for and through the youths to increase employment opportunities. TVET has a huge advantage over other forms of training and education because it equips the students with practical and applicable skills to create tangible products and use their knowledge in ways that create jobs not just for themselves, but also for other people (Wilmoth, 2012).

TVET can be broken down into its technical, vocational, and educational aspects. Technical training equipped the youth with hands-on skills like machine operation, driving lessons, digital applications, and other technological abilities. Vocational training entails job-specific instruction, with a view to equipping them with the skills that allow them to perform a particular payable job role. Education imparts students with more theoretical skills for jobs that require theoretical abilities like agricultural extension.

Discussion

Human resource is the most important asset a country employs in its economic growth (Biavaschi, 2012). Unemployment and underemployment among the youths are huge contributors to slow economic growth in sub-Saharan countries, Liberia included. Youth unemployment and underemployment mean that the most productive section of a country's population does not contribute to the country's economic output. Moreover, the International Labor Organization has issued a caution on the likelihood of unemployed youths being lured back into conflict.

Through Technical and Vocational Education and Training, the government stimulates the youths to become economically active through value addition in agriculture, value-addition industry, the arts, and the digital economy. This is in sharp contrast to the current organization of the Liberian job market in which a majority of Liberians are employed in the resource-extraction economy (Lindberg, 2014). The TVET program involves not just the provision of education and training programs, but also the linkages with employers and the mainstream economy that absorb these graduates. It is only through the simultaneous spurring of these economies that Liberia has felt the true scope and effectiveness of the TVET programs.

According to the Ministry of Education that oversees the TVET program, entrepreneurship is a core part of vocational and technical training given to the youths, a skill that encourages graduates to create jobs rather than wait for employment opportunities (Dukuly, 2014). To ensure that recovery efforts are sustainable over a long time, the country's National Employment Policy follows a two-sided strategy of creating jobs now and creating jobs over a long period. Liberia has followed the precedence set by other sub-Saharan countries like Kenya, Botswana, and Papua New Guinea, countries that have created significant employment opportunities for their youth populations. With the ultimate aim of reducing poverty, rebuilding its economy, and restoring peaceful coexistence, the government through the National Employment Policy seeks to develop its human resources to augment its rich mineral endowments, revitalize the agricultural sector, and formalize the economy for more effective governance.

Conclusion

As a sovereign nation, Liberia has endured grim challenges to its legitimacy. Apart from military coups and civil wars and military insurgency, Liberia has more recently faced the gruesome Ebola epidemic that threatened to spread throughout the world. The result has been a country with a deteriorating economy, high unemployment rates, and lacking in critical infrastructure. The technical and vocational education and training program presents a golden opportunity for the government to overcome these challenges by empowering the youth to become more productive members of the community through entrepreneurship.

References

Mel, S., Elder, S., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2013). Labour market transitions of young women and men in Liberia. Geneva: International Labor Organization

Wilmoth, D. (2012). Empowering Liberian Youth through Technical and Vocational Education and Training: International Case Studies for Stakeholders' Consultative Forum Monrovia. New South Wales: Learning Cities International Pty

Biavaschi, C., et al. (2012). Youth unemployment and vocational training. WDR Background Paper

Dukuly, S. S. (2014). Country report on policies and mechanisms for integration into the workforce and job creation. Monrovia: Liberia Ministry of Education

Lindberg, E. (2014). Youth and the labor market in Liberia: On history, state structures and spheres of informalities. Current African Issues, 58(1), 1-35, http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:716926/FULLTEXT02.pdf