Sierra Leone military establishes technical and education college

Africa/Sierra Leone/19.06.18/Source: www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com.

Sierra Leone’s economic recovery is far too reliant on the mining industry, especially iron ore export, which in the last six years has experienced serious turbulence, as a result of the 2014 Ebola outbreak and global economic downturn.

If the economy is to recover and start growing again, there must be a concerted strategy aimed at diversifying the economy. Key sectors such as tourism, forestry, building construction, fishing, agro-processing, and manufacturing, must be prioritised by the government.

But the growth potential of these sectors cannot be realised without investment in skills development through vocational training, using a sectoral approach.

For far too long vocational training in Sierra Leone has been regarded as the dumping ground for young school dropouts and those less capable of making the grades to university, with the disastrous consequences of producing an unskilled labour force that is unfit for the labour market.

This has to change, if Sierra Leone is to compete with other countries such as Rwanda and Ghana as a destination for foreign direct investments in knowledge-based industries.

Hence, it is encouraging news to see that the Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) has established a technical and education college of its own, with the hope of helping to raise the quality standards of vocational skills training in the country. More needs to be done, but it’s a good start.

According to report from the military, the new institution was approved last week by the Tertiary Education

Source of the notice: http://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/sierra-leone-military-establishes-technical-and-education-college/