 
Contact Address:
National Training Authority
98 Kairaba Avenue
Fajara M Section
P.O. Box 1087, Banjul
The Gambia, West Africa
Tel no: 4370518 or 4371799
Fax no: 4370548 or 4370526
Email: info@nta.gm
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Information:
The Gambia like other developing nations understood
the need to support its national development process
through the creation of a Skills Development Strategy.
As a result 1998, the Department of State for Education
(DOSE) supported by the European Development Fund under
the 3rd Education Project, developed a Private Sector
led Skills Development Policy to Reform TVET in the
Gambia.
The development of the policy led to the National Training
Authority Act of 2002. The Authority supported by a
subvention and a Levy started operations in 2003 to
create an enabling environment for Reforms to TVET to
be financed by the European Development Fund under the
Support to Education Sector Project (SESP).
The Reforms were supported by four EU Technical Experts
in the fields of Standards and Qualifications Development,
Labour Market Information Systems and Capacity Building
for a period of ten (10) months.
The Gambia Skills Qualifications Framework (GSQF) was
developed and launched together with 30 skills standards
and qualifications in four priority fields plus several
other Key Skills namely:
• Agriculture (Horticulture)
• Hospitality (Customer Care and Food Hygiene and
Safety)
• Construction (Domestic House Wiring)
• Engineering (Motor Mechanic)
• Key Skills
(Literacy; Numeracy; ICT (User); English Communications;
Work skills and Life Skills)
The GSQF taking cognisance of the high level of illiteracy
in the Gambia with equally high participation of the
informal sector in the economy, focused on a two tier
system that caters for both the literate (normal route)
and the non-literate (practical route). These are unique
to only the GSQF and are being complimented by Key Skills
at the Foundation Level open to all and sundry.
The GSQF is being supported by the:
• Development
of a Quality Assurance (QA) Process for Registration
and Accreditation.
The instrument has been validated and its regulations
are being reviewed by the Department of State for Justice.
• Development of Standards and Qualifications in
four (4) pilot sectors of the economy.
As mentioned above additional standards and qualifications
are being developed in the existing four (4) fields
with new fields being identified by the Labour Market
study and industry.
• Creation of an Assessment
and Certification system together with the Private Sector
as key players.
Assessment and Certification processes and procedures
are currently being developed and as competency based
training are new to the Gambia, the pilot phase will
be utilised to ensure a thorough understanding of the
system. Key stakeholders of high repute are involved
in the process.
• Creation of Policies on
Apprenticeship; Attachment; Information and Communication;
ICT; Human Resource etc
The Apprenticeship policy is linked to the GamJobs initiative
under Department of State for Trade, Industry and Employment
(DoSTIE).
Attachment forms a crucial part of the trainees training
programme conducted nationally (together with industry
trainees are exposed to the world-of-work). Trainees
who undertake attachment are usually in their first
year and are required to return to their various institutions
at the end of the period.
Information and Communication is central to the NTA
activities. The policy developed in this regard is geared
towards producing informative materials for national
and international awareness campaigns, networking, benchmarking
and references.
Vision & Mission Statement:
The National Training Authority is committed to expand
and strengthen TVET opportunities oriented towards meeting
the present and future demands of industry, the public
and private sector.
Vision:
To provide a trained, skilled, self-reliant and enterprising
labour force that reflects the demand of The Labour
Market. |
