By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
The Executive Director of the Banking Institute of Liberia Assistant Professor Richard Panton has underscored the need for the inclusion of life skills in the Country’s educational curriculum to address the current unemployment challenges confronting Liberians in the Country.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Paper in Monrovia, the Banking Institute of Liberia Executive Director said, the inclusion of Life skills in Liberia’s educational curriculum will help in addressing the many unemployment challenges that youthful Liberians are confronted with after the completion of high school or University academic activities in the Country.
Assistant Professor Richard Panton further noted that the inclusion of Life skills in the educational curriculum of the Country will adequately address issues within the labor market and afford young Liberians the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the development of the Country despite their educational status.
“If you have trained manpower in the society, many of the problems that society faces will be addressed because you have the skills available, he asserted.”
Governments in Liberia have been grappling with the provision of job opportunities especially among young people in the Country with lack the requisite Academic or vocational skills to be included in the Job market for possible employment.
Governments in times past and current have been challenged for the employment of at least 70 percent of the youthful population for a call for more investment in the private sector for possible employment.
What remains more challenging for the youthful population is the requisite vocational skills needed including Auto mechanics, Carpentry, Masonry, plumbing, etc, to have them employed in the private sector and ensure that their needs and other essential family needs are addressed.
Many Liberians including Civil Society Organizations, Politicians, and Prominent Citizens have made several recommendations to the national government for the inclusion of vocational and life skills training in the National curriculum to address the issue of unemployment but this has not been actualized as the government struggles on resources for full implementation.
For his part, a Liberian educator and financial expert Professor Panton has maintained that Liberians in the Country will continue to struggle for job opportunities if they fail to include Vocational or Life skills as part of their educational credentials.
However, the Banking Institute Executive Director Assistant Professor Panton has disclosed that the Institution has signed a partnership deal with Afriktech Solutions a Liberian Financial Institution to offer computerized Accounting at the Institution.
Assistant Professor Panton further maintained that the signing of the deal is intended to equip high school graduates and University students with first-hand skills in QuickBooks, Excel, and Tally to prepare them for the job market while they seek higher education.
The Banking Institute of Liberia is an Institution geared toward educating students interested in financial studies and will be graduating more than 165 students in financial discipline this Month.
The Institution offered professional development training programs in Banking and Finance, Internal Audit Controls, Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Digital Banking and Marketing, Compliance and Corporate Risk Management, Lending and credit administration, and Human Resource Management.
