-VP Taylor discloses, as she secures huge opportunities for young Liberians.
By: Jerromie S. Walters
As seen for years, scores of young Liberians will again have multiplicity of reasons to venerate the existence of Liberia’s first female Vice President, not just as a result of her indescribable impact on their lives, but her exceptional influence that has resulted to massive educational and job opportunities for the youths of Liberia, following the launch of the multi-project portfolio run by NEKOTECH Centre of Excellence & SOS Global Investments and the ADITYA Educational Institutions’ huge scholarship that’s underway.
Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor virtually joined scores of other dignitaries from across Africa, early Thursday, July 20, 2023, for the launch of the NEKOTECH USA/Canada “Readiness College”, and further characterized it as a brilliant opportunity, considering that LIberia has for the first time been given 20 slots for young Liberians to pursual their masters.
NEKOTECH Centre of Excellence & SOS Global Investments has 4 components: Decent Work- Job creation through temporary migration overseas, Degree Programs-USA Work- Study Masters Degree programs focused on STEM and SPORTS, Direct Investments for job creation at home, and Diaspora Engagement for entrepreneurial partnerships.
In her introductory comment during the Zoom interaction, the Vice President expressed excitement about the launch of the initiative, considering that it concerns affording young people the opportunity to explore their knowledge, and stopping illegal migration.
“The masters program is a free program, you pay $USD2500 for the registration, but you go to school for free, once you are complete, you will pay the US government back, so it’s a masters loan program, but you don’t have to worry about it until you actually complete your studies, and once you finish, they will find you jobs in the IS or wherever the programs are, that will allow you to pay it back,” she noted.
To effectuate this as early as possible, she is hopeful of beginning with the process on Monday of next week. “Information will be provided for people to access the system, and if you access the system and take part in the testing and other things you will need to do”.
She stressed, “While you are on the US for a two or three years, you have now obtained education, and you have now gotten expert on hands knowledge about whatever sector you chose to go to”.
Meanwhile, the VP described the opportunity as a Personal advancement program, which will equip young people, and allow them to pay back after they shall have gotten job.
According to Vice President Taylor, her office will provide the oversight, and candidates will be allowed to freely decide on what they are interested in studying, as it was made vividly clear that Interested candidates are not tied to specific courses.
However, the Vice President encouraged candidates to consider the need for education in the medical field or technical areas. “We will be encouraging young people to go into forensic for example, you know we have a problem with forensic.” She stated.
She also believes the country needs to get to the digital space, and young Liberians must consider areas of studies that are crucial to present day reality, especially with the existence of artificial intelligence.
Though her office will carry out the oversight, the Vice President clarified that she will not be responsible for the vetting, as said will be done by the university in the US.
In her opinion, education is the greatest thing that can be given to young people, as such, she praised the launch of the initiative, as she also believes that education is the key out of poverty.
Moreover, she sees it as a milestone achievement that worth being acclaimed, especially as the country is few days to the Independence Day celebration.
“I didn’t want to lose this unique opportunity, to add the fact that this program will be launch here in my office, we will set up the network here and people will apply and hopefully we can get our people processed before school begins in September,” she added.
Nonetheless, this initiative which is conducted by the office of the Vice President, and in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour and the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), seeks to ensure the wellbeing of Liberians that are interested in seeking greener pastures in foreign countries.
She said it requires serious redress, as such, she said the program will enable young people to be trained about the different job opportunities from overseas, contrary to how it has been where people often take young men and women to parts of Europe and Asia, and later maltreat them.
“We are going to do the migration program in conversation with the Ministry of Labour, so that we do it properly. You will be documented, in order for us to know where you are, and the program works in such a way that half of your salary will come back home every month and there are lots of benefits that come out of probably strained and processed immigration, she said.
The Vice President further disclosed an ongoing negotiation that’s being held between her office and ADITYA Educational Institutions, an internationally recognized institution, India. She said the institution is willing to afford full scholarship at PHD level for a significant number of students.
She stressed the need for PHD holders in the different professions, which she thinks will enable Liberians to become experts in major areas. It was also made known by the Vice President that the ADITYA Educational Institutions expressed interest in erecting one of its campuses in Liberia.
As one of the few female panelists earlier, during the launch of the program, the Founder and CEO of Justina Mutale Foundation, Justina Mutale of Zambia, emphasized the essentialism of the initiative, especially as it borders around education. She welcomed the fact that it considers the younger population, and urged Africans and young people specifically, to invest in their education as she believes it can never be an error.
Madam. Justina Mutale, stressed that the program has huge benefits, like improving the mind, statement of purpose and maintain self-confidence. She added that it doesn’t only provide knowledge, but it connects young people to the world. Madam Justina Mutale hailed the issue of individuals seeking greener pastures in wealthy countries, but stressed that it must be done legally.
SOS LABOUR GHANA LIMITED IS A MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING LICENSED LABOUR MIGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL JOB PLACEMENT AGENCY ESTABLISHED IN
GHANA IN 2007 AND LICENSED IN JANUARY 2008 – SOS HAS SINCE WON OVER 12 AWARDS GLOBALLY FOR EXCELLENCE IN MIGRATION. Their Masters Degree Readiness Programme courses offered are on: CV writing, Cover Letter, Statement of Purpose, Letters of Recommendation Personal Mission Statement, Interview Skills, Financial Literacy in the USA – Credit, and Success Strategies
BEHIND THE SUCCESS OF SOS LABOUR IS ITS SISTER COMPANY – NEKOTECH CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AND THE
NEKOTECH CENTER FOR LABOUR MIGRATION DIPLOMACY -WITH A CONSORTIUM OF 15 HIGHLY PLACED MIGRATION CONSULTANTS AND SPECIALISTS IN THREE AREAS – AFRICA-
NORTH AMERICA, AFRICA-MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA-AUSTRALIA.
SINCE 2010 – NEKOTECH CENTER AND SOS LABOUR HAVE BEEN ON THE FOREFRONT OF FIGHTING FOR LEGAL MIGRATION AND AGAINST ALL SLAVE-LIKE WORK FOR MIGRANT WORKERS – THROUGH ADVOCATING FOR THE RATIFICATION OF ILO C189 – DECENT WORK FOR DOMESTIC
WORKERS AND ILO C190 WHICH IS AGAINST VIOLENCE IN PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT WORKING WITH SEVERAL HOLLYWOOD STARS, STARTED A MUSIC VIDEO TO ENCOURAGE NATIONS TO RATIFY C189 IN 2011 TO 2012.
Like NEKOTECH Centre of Excellence & SOS Global Investments, Aditya was established on the 3rd of February 2016, and in view of demand-supply gap scenario, exponential opportunities and dynamic challenges in the 21st century. Aditya has taken call for a change in their thinking on engineering practices and education. A transformation on the current engineering education is the need of the hour.
It is skeptical about the exposure to new knowledge together with
rapidly evolving technological skills, the skill to communicate across disciplines, the ability to lead team-centered projects, contextualized problem formulation, and hands-on experience are the present demands of the global industry.
