70
Council and the Ministry of Youth of Sierra
Leone endorsed the project as a viable model for
enhancing youth employment through skills
training and entrepreneurship development.
Although there was no increase in funding, the
consortium responsible for implementation on
the government’s behalf decided to expand the
project to other rural provinces outside of
Freetown, the capital, which include Bo, Makeni,
Kenema and Njala.
Extensive consultations were held with key
stakeholders and partner institutions to raise their
interest and mobilise them to participate in the
development and implementation of the project.
The project implementers worked alongside partner institutions to develop MOUs. The government recognised the signing of the MOU by
partner institutions as their contribution towards
national development.
The consortium identified three skills and
trades as critical areas to boost the employability
of young people in Sierra Leone. These are sustainable tourism and sustainable agriculture with
emphasis on aquaculture and green construction
(carpentry, masonry and fabrication). In recognition of the severe impact of CCDCs on young
people, the consortium pursued work on the
development of new curricula, including training
manuals that provide information on effective
pedagogy for trainers, to build resilience and
enhance sustainable livelihoods now and in the
future.
A comprehensive Training of Trainers programme was successfully implemented in partner
institutions. Counsellors, lecturers and instructors were trained in business service centres
(BSC), TVET centres, colleges and universities
on how to deliver YEEP courses. Originally,
TOTs were formulated to train 30 counsellors
from 3 institutions in Freetown. However, due to
increased interest, the programme expanded to
train 60 counsellors from 7 partner institutions
across the country. In the skills development
training, the project initially trained 20 lecturers
and instructors and was later increased to 63. In
Freetown, Makeni and Kenema, 18 instructors
were trained in BSC to work with the youth to
enhance entrepreneurship capacity by developing
and implementing businesses.
In terms of exposing the youth to modern tools
and equipment, the project selected three TVET
partner institutions and provided them with
advanced tools and equipment worth over
$150,000 to support the delivery of the new
“trades and skills” aspect to students involved in
these training courses. While most aid-assisted
project in Sierra Leone is staffed with mainly foreign consultants, over 80% of staff were from or
resided in Sierra Leone. The consortium primarily employed local consultants who possessed a
sound understanding of the development environment and its issues in Sierra Leone and the
West African region in general. The consultants
also had excellent competency of the subject
matter and good rapport with NAYCOM and
partner agency officials. Initially, the project set
out to train 2700 young people through the delivery of programmes in three components, including employment skills, entrepreneurship skills
and career guidance and job readiness skills. As
of January 2020, due to demand, there are currently 7000 youth registered and involved in the
training courses.
The project displayed an excellent combination of the hybrid approach for youth development and climate change adaptation. The
development and implementation of the MOU
with partner institutions (PIs) which committed
the PIs to buy-in to the development of the project reflected its top-down approach. PIs worked
alongside the governmental agencies to develop
and implement the curricula and training manuals within the institutions. PIs were also responsible for the delivery of the courses in their
institutions, while NAYCOM PIU officials
ensured the steady implementation of monitoring
and evaluation processes to provide feedback to
governments on their performance.
The leadership of the NAYCOM is young,
vibrant, progressive and visionary. The Youth
Commissioner and Deputy Youth Commissioner
were appointed to NAYCOM in 2018 after the
new government came into office in May 2018.
They are committed to implementing the govern4 The Emergence of New Climatic Storms: Global Perspective on the Application…
Council and the Ministry of Youth of Sierra
Leone endorsed the project as a viable model for
enhancing youth employment through skills
training and entrepreneurship development.
Although there was no increase in funding, the
consortium responsible for implementation on
the government’s behalf decided to expand the
project to other rural provinces outside of
Freetown, the capital, which include Bo, Makeni,
Kenema and Njala.
Extensive consultations were held with key
stakeholders and partner institutions to raise their
interest and mobilise them to participate in the
development and implementation of the project.
The project implementers worked alongside partner institutions to develop MOUs. The government recognised the signing of the MOU by
partner institutions as their contribution towards
national development.
The consortium identified three skills and
trades as critical areas to boost the employability
of young people in Sierra Leone. These are sustainable tourism and sustainable agriculture with
emphasis on aquaculture and green construction
(carpentry, masonry and fabrication). In recognition of the severe impact of CCDCs on young
people, the consortium pursued work on the
development of new curricula, including training
manuals that provide information on effective
pedagogy for trainers, to build resilience and
enhance sustainable livelihoods now and in the
future.
A comprehensive Training of Trainers programme was successfully implemented in partner
institutions. Counsellors, lecturers and instructors were trained in business service centres
(BSC), TVET centres, colleges and universities
on how to deliver YEEP courses. Originally,
TOTs were formulated to train 30 counsellors
from 3 institutions in Freetown. However, due to
increased interest, the programme expanded to
train 60 counsellors from 7 partner institutions
across the country. In the skills development
training, the project initially trained 20 lecturers
and instructors and was later increased to 63. In
Freetown, Makeni and Kenema, 18 instructors
were trained in BSC to work with the youth to
enhance entrepreneurship capacity by developing
and implementing businesses.
In terms of exposing the youth to modern tools
and equipment, the project selected three TVET
partner institutions and provided them with
advanced tools and equipment worth over
$150,000 to support the delivery of the new
“trades and skills” aspect to students involved in
these training courses. While most aid-assisted
project in Sierra Leone is staffed with mainly foreign consultants, over 80% of staff were from or
resided in Sierra Leone. The consortium primarily employed local consultants who possessed a
sound understanding of the development environment and its issues in Sierra Leone and the
West African region in general. The consultants
also had excellent competency of the subject
matter and good rapport with NAYCOM and
partner agency officials. Initially, the project set
out to train 2700 young people through the delivery of programmes in three components, including employment skills, entrepreneurship skills
and career guidance and job readiness skills. As
of January 2020, due to demand, there are currently 7000 youth registered and involved in the
training courses.
The project displayed an excellent combination of the hybrid approach for youth development and climate change adaptation. The
development and implementation of the MOU
with partner institutions (PIs) which committed
the PIs to buy-in to the development of the project reflected its top-down approach. PIs worked
alongside the governmental agencies to develop
and implement the curricula and training manuals within the institutions. PIs were also responsible for the delivery of the courses in their
institutions, while NAYCOM PIU officials
ensured the steady implementation of monitoring
and evaluation processes to provide feedback to
governments on their performance.
The leadership of the NAYCOM is young,
vibrant, progressive and visionary. The Youth
Commissioner and Deputy Youth Commissioner
were appointed to NAYCOM in 2018 after the
new government came into office in May 2018.
They are committed to implementing the govern4 The Emergence of New Climatic Storms: Global Perspective on the Application…