FACULTY OF VOCATIONAL & SKILLS DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Motto: Promote Self-reliance and Collaboration for Skills Development
GENERAL OVERVIEW
Over the last two decades, Sub-Saharan African countries have experienced significant growth as a result of the rapid transformations and foreign investments which helped boost the demand for greater technological skills. But there remains a large challenge as countries continue to observe a large gap in the demand and supply of technical and vocational skills, and industries often identify the shortage of an adequately educated workforce as a major constraint to further growth and development.
In this view, key factors which enable the Faculty of Vocational and Skills Development Studies to stand out include demand-orientation, development and constant innovation of ‘niche’ programs based on their comparative advantage and labor market needs, stronger linkage with enterprises, hiring versatile teachers with technical competence and practical experience and exposure to industries, and effective governance and management system.
National skills development policies and systems strive to meet present and future labour market needs for skills and to improve productivity and competitiveness in the sectors which are critical for the achievement of national employment and development goals. Skills policies and systems encompass technical and vocational training, workplace learning, informal learning, learning opportunities in the informal and rural economies and education and training for lifelong learning. The Faculty offers a varied menu of training modules pertaining to these elements.
The Faculty of Vocational and Skills Development Studies will be responsible for training of middle-level manpower at the Technical University of Sierra Leone.