The Ministry of Youth and Sports, through its Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), plans, implements, supervises and monitors vocational training. The Ministry of Education manages adult education, Alternative Basic Education (ABE), teacher education and Continuous Professional Development (CPD). The Ministry of Labour supports labour-market regulation and workforce coordination, while employers and private providers deliver workplace training. Cooperation between these ministries was still being expanded in 2026. ABE provides three years of non-formal literacy, numeracy and livelihood-skills education. The National Youth Community Literacy Program offers free, continuing courses through Community Youth Centers for young people aged 15 to 35, although local access depends on the provider and region. Other routes address practical employment skills. Ministry of Youth and Sports programmes include the Monrovia Vocational Training Center with 13 trades, the Booker Washington Institute for hospitality training for disadvantaged women and girls, agricultural centers such as KAVTC and TAVTC, and the Youth Agriculture Training Center, which also teaches electricity, carpentry, masonry, plumbing and metalwork. The Jilijuah Vocational Training Center offers tailoring. Youth On-The-Job Training (YOJT) provides apprenticeship-based training for illiterate or semi-literate young people. The Ministry of Youth and Sports Service Charter for 2022–2025 lists YOJT for applicants who are illiterate and not currently in education or training; it requires a personal-data form, is free and lasts 12 months. The charter lists Jilijuah Vocational Training Center access for NIET applicants, free for nine months. The Youth Agriculture Training Program is listed for young people with a high-school qualification, free for 12 months. These conditions apply to the listed programmes and should be confirmed with the provider because programme rules can change. The Monrovia Vocational Training Center received provisional presidential approval for a 12-month reform pilot on 20 March 2026. The announced reform reduces the training cycle from 18 to 12 months and removes material and uniform fees. The center has capacity for about 3,000 trainees per year but had fewer than 800 enrolled when the reform was reported. Registration was continuing, while transport, additional instructors and more employment-focused curricula were planned. Teacher CPD is developing separately. The Ministry of Education began preparing a national CPD strategy in May 2025, and the teacher-licensing policy envisages CPD for retaining a licence. Nationwide implementation of that system has not been established. Employers also provide their own upskilling and reskilling when they need to close workplace skill gaps, but the cost, duration and certificate value vary by employer or provider. A private or post-secondary course may require a separate accreditation check. The National Commission on Higher Education primarily covers post-secondary institutions and is not the general regulator for all TVET. A proposed TVET Commission law was vetoed in March 2026, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ministry of Education were working on a revised legal structure. Regulation and quality assurance therefore remain in transition, and portable recognition across Liberia cannot be assumed.
Upskilling in Liberia
Upskilling in Liberia is fragmented across public training, adult education, employer training and informal learning rather than one nationwide system. Options include literacy and livelihood courses, vocational trades, agriculture, hospitality, workplace apprenticeships and professional development. Access, cost, duration and certificate value depend on the programme and provider, and Liberia has no general legal entitlement or reliably evidenced national qualifications framework for continuing education.
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