World TVET Database - Country Profiles

1. TVET mission, legislation and national policy or strategy

TVET mission

The aim of Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the Gambia is to contribute to: (1) promoting self-employment and eradicating poverty; (2) promoting employability; (3) enhancing socio-economic development; and (4) supporting lifelong learning (LLL).

TVET strategy

The main thrust of TVET related strategies in the Gambia is to contribute to the development of sustainable, affordable, accessible, relevant and quality TVET. The ultimate goal is to deliver TVET through envisaged centres of excellence. This aim is supported by a number of documents, including:

(1) The 2004 – 2015 National Education Policy advocates for the strengthening, expansion and diversification of TVET programmes in order to meet the emerging needs of the growing labour market. To ensure the quality and relevance of training and skills development, the policy recommends, amongst other interventions, to increase private sector participation in the delivery and financing of TVET programmes, especially for rural youth.

(2) The Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE) 2012-2015 replaces the 2007 – 2011 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and aims to enhance employment creation and opportunities, provide sustainable social services and promote gender equity to bolster Gambia’s economic competitiveness. Specifically Pillar 3 of PAGE deals with education policies and states that capacity building initiatives such as TVET programmes will be linked to job market requirements. Moreover, PAGE also states that the Government intends to continue supporting private TVET initiatives through sponsorships, provided that the training initiatives are consonant with and support Government strategies.

TVET legislation

• The National Training Authority Act 2002 establishes the National Training Authority (NTA) and mandates the NTA to: (1) regulate national vocational qualifications; (2) coordinate the quality of TVET delivery; (3) make technical and vocational education and training relevant to all occupations, skilled artisans, semi-skilled workers and to occupations classified in the unskilled category; and (4) encourage and promote LLL to all Gambians.
• The National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) bill (2015) seeks to standardise tertiary and higher education, including TVET. The bill also establishes the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority which will replace the National Training Authority.

Sources:

ERNWACA (2013). The Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) Graduates for the Period 2015 to 2011 Tracer Study.

Republic of The Gambia (2002). The National Training Authority Act.

Republic of The Gambia (2004). Education Policy 2004-2015. http://www.gafspfund.org/sites/gafspfund.org/files/Documents/Attachment%209%20Gambia%20Education%20Policy.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

Republic of The Gambia (2015). The National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) Bill.

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2. TVET formal, non-formal and informal systems

Scheme compiled by UNESCO-UNEVOC from UNESCO-IBE (2011). World Data on Education, Ed. VII. The Gambia. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE.

Upon completing six years of primary education (lower basic), students proceed to a lower secondary education (upper basic) which completes nine years of basic education. Graduates proceed to senior secondary education that completes a total of 12 years of schooling.

Formal TVET system

TVET is provided at the upper basic education and senior secondary education levels. Specifically at the upper basic education level, the curriculum consists of core subjects such as languages, mathematics, science and social and environmental studies. Non-core, specialised subjects include physical education, life skills (nutrition, HIV prevention, family education, and interpersonal skills), national languages, religious knowledge, agricultural science, arts and crafts, music, metal work, wood work, home economics, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), technical drawing, and technology and engineering.

At the senior secondary education level students are able to attend TVET programmes at TVET institutions or at senior secondary schools teaching general secondary education as well as technical subjects such as technical drawing, metal work, wood work, electricity, and motor mechanics. English and mathematics are compulsory subjects.

Post-secondary TVET programmes

Post-secondary TVET programmes are offered by institutions such as the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) and normally last between one and four years. Specifically, certificate level programmes last one year while diploma level programmes generally last longer. Subjects taught in post-secondary TVET programmes include motor mechanics, metal machining, welding, metal fabrication, refrigeration and air conditioning, electrical installation, motor vehicle body works, carpentry and joinery, brick laying, plastering and tiling, and building construction.

Non-formal and informal TVET systems

Non-formal TVET in The Gambia is mainly offered through enterprise-based training and traditional apprenticeships. These forms of training are unregulated and are mainly conducted in sectors such as motor mechanics, welding, masonry, jewellery, carving, sewing, and commercial vehicle driving. Apprenticeship programmes can last between a couple of months to 2-5 years.

Non-formal and informal forms of learning are recognised in the Gambia Skills Qualifications Framework (GSQF).

Sources:

Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (2014). The Gambia National Education for All Review Report. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002314/231425e.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

UNESCO-IBE (2011). World Data on Education, Ed. VII. The Gambia. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE. http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Gambia.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

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3. Governance and financing

Governance

TVET is governed by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MOBSE), the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MOHERST) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Employment (MOTIE). Specifically the MOTIE represents the interest of the stakeholders such as employers and the business community. The MOHERST oversees a number of training institutions, including the University of the Gambia, Gambia College, Management development institute, the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI), college of nursing and midwifery.

Other actors involved in the governance of TVET in the Gambia include the National Training Authority (NTA), a statutory body which regulates, supervises and monitors all public and private training institutions and providers. The mandate of the NTA is to make skills development more responsive to the needs of the labour market by, for example, conducting Training Needs Assessments. To this end, the NTA has also developed the Gambia Skills Qualifications Framework (GSQF). There are currently 83 licensed and accredited TVET providers delivering courses for key sectors of the Gambian economy including agriculture, tourism, fisheries and construction.

Financing

TVET is mainly financed by the Government of the Gambia which allocates an annual subvention to the TVET institutions. Private institutions offering TVET are self-financed through tuition fees collected and donor partners.

Sources:

ERNWACA (2013). The Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) Graduates for the Period 2015 to 2011 Tracer Study.

UNESCO-IBE (2011). World Data on Education, Ed. VII. The Gambia. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE. http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Gambia.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

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4. TVET teachers and trainers

TVET teacher and trainer training are mainly conducted in the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) and the Gambia College. Training courses are organised in classrooms and field experience is integrated in the programme through work placement and attachment. At the end of the programme, students are awarded the Higher Teachers’ Certificate (HTC) and the Further and Adult Education teachers’ certificate (FAETC).

Sources:

ERNWACA (2013). The Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) Graduates for the Period 2015 to 2011 Tracer Study.

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5. Qualifications and qualifications frameworks

Secondary vocational education

Programme	Duration	Qualification
Senior Secondary Education (metal work, wood work, electricity, motor mechanics, technical drawing)	3 years	West African Senior secondary School Certificate

Post-secondary vocational education

Programme	Duration	Qualification
Certificate programme (motor vehicle systems, applied mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering)	2 years	Technician certificate
Diploma programme (motor vehicle systems, applied mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering, electrical and electronic engineering	2 years	Technician diploma
Crafts (welding and fabrication, trowel vocation, timber vocation)	1 year	Craft Certificate/ Diploma
Electrical installation	1-3 years	GSQ level 1 certificate/ GSQ level 2 certificate/ GSQ level 3 certificate

National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

The Gambia Skills Qualifications Framework (GSQF) came into effect in 2002 and is administered by the National Training Authority (NTA). The GSQF aims to provide a coherent structure of standards, levels, qualifications and processes, developed and maintained in a quality assured manner, with the aim of improving, regularising and localising the attainment of occupational skills. The GSQF is based on the needs and realities of the Gambia by:

• reflecting the skill standards needed to support human resource development across all economic sectors;
• providing standards that can support initial and continuous vocational training; and
• including learners with low literacy levels.

The GSQF is based on: (1) learning outcomes from skill standards; (2) occupational competencies based on knowledge ability and behaviour to do a job; (3) assessments that are benchmarked against that competence, rather than exams; and (4) international best practices.

The GSQF has four main Levels, reflecting changes in responsibilities, competencies and demands. The GSQF is as follows:

Qualifications	Level Descriptor- potential for
Level 4	Competence to perform management and analytical skills and / or specialist skills associated with jobs that are non-routine e.g. middle manager / professional worker
Level 3	Competence to perform tasks associated with skilled jobs of routine and complex nature sometimes with supervisory functions e.g. team leader
Level 2	Competence to perform routine and some non-routine tasks under minimum guidance and supervision e.g. skilled worker
Level 1	Competence to perform a limited range of work activities whilst working under supervision e.g. trained worker
Foundation Level	Initial skills - basic skills in English communication, life skills, numeracy and non-occupational work skills with literacy in mother tongue as an option

Table extracted from National Training Authority (2006). Gambia Skills Qualification Framework Policy Document. http://datatopics.worldbank.org/hnp/files/edstats/GMBpol06.pdf.

Quality assurance

The quality of TVET programmes is assured by the NTA. Training institutions conduct the training and the internal assessment of students who are subjected to a further external assessment by the NTA. Certificates are only awarded when external assessments are attested to by the NTA. All GSQ Qualifications are issued by the NTA.

Other institutions involved in the quality assurance include select public sector institutions such as the National Water and Electricity Company and the Gambia Ports Authority.

Sources:

National Training Authority (2006). Gambia Skills Qualification Framework Policy Document. http://datatopics.worldbank.org/hnp/files/edstats/GMBpol06.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

ERNWACA (2013). The Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) Graduates for the Period 2015 to 2011 Tracer Study.

UNESCO-IBE (2011). World Data on Education, Ed. VII. The Gambia. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE. http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Gambia.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

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6. Current and ongoing reforms, projects, and challenges

Current reforms and major projects

The National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority bill of 2015 will replace the National Training Authority and will ensure that Gambian qualifications are benchmarked to international standards. The institutions involved in the reform are:

• The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MOHERST);
• the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA);
• private sector stakeholders; and
• the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Employment (MOTIE).

Challenges

TVET in the Gambia faces a number of challenges mainly regarding financing and public-private partnerships (PPP). TVET is costly and therefore the Government of the Gambia has identified a sustainable financing scheme as essential. PPP in the Gambia are ineffective resulting in apprenticeships and student placements, which are mandatory for all courses provided by the Gambia Technical Training Institute courses, being difficult to secure.

Although entrepreneurship education has been integrated into all skills training programmes, sources of micro-financing are hard to find.

Sources:

ERNWACA (2013). The Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) Graduates for the Period 2015 to 2011 Tracer Study.

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7. Statistical information(*)

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8. Links to UNEVOC centres and TVET institutions

UNEVOC Centres

• Gambia Technical Training Institute
• National Training Authority

TVET Institutions

• Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology
• Ministry of Trade, Industry and Employment
• Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education

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9. References, bibliography, abbreviations

References

ERNWACA (2013). The Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) Graduates for the Period 2015 to 2011 Tracer Study.

Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (2014). The Gambia National Education for All Review Report. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002314/231425e.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

National Training Authority (2006). Gambia Skills Qualification Framework Policy Document. http://datatopics.worldbank.org/hnp/files/edstats/GMBpol06.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

Republic of The Gambia (2002). The National Training Authority Act.

Republic of The Gambia (2004). Education Policy 2004-2015. http://www.gafspfund.org/sites/gafspfund.org/files/Documents/Attachment%209%20Gambia%20Education%20Policy.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

Republic of The Gambia (2015). The National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) Bill.

UNESCO-IBE (2011). World Data on Education, Ed. VII. The Gambia. Geneva: UNESCO-IBE. http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Gambia.pdf. Accessed: 16.09.2015.

Abbreviations

FAETC - Further and Adult Education teachers’ certificate

GSQF - Gambia Skills Qualification Framework

GTTI - Gambia Technical Training Institute

HTC - Higher Teachers’ Certificate

ICT - Information and Communications Technology

LLL - Lifelong Learning

MOBSE - Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education

MOHERST - Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology

MOTIE - Ministry of Trade, Industry and Employment

NAQAA - National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority

NQF - National Qualifications Framework

NTA - National Training Authority

PAGE - Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment

PPP - Public-Private Partnerships