President Barrow Launches D83.8 Million TVET Grant Program to Expand Skills Training and Youth Employment

By Fatou Sillah

President Adama Barrow on Tuesday launched a new round of grants totaling more than D83.8 million to strengthen technical and vocational education and training (TVET), expand workforce skills, and support youth entrepreneurship across The Gambia.

The grants, awarded under the Skills Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SIE) Fund, were unveiled during a ceremony at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre. The initiative is being implemented by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology through the World Bank-funded Resilience, Inclusion, Skills, and Equity (RISE) Project.

The funding is divided into two components aimed at improving institutional capacity and expanding access to market-driven vocational training.

Under the first component, 25 TVET institutions will share D33,858,708.24 to upgrade infrastructure, modernize equipment, strengthen governance systems, and improve the quality of technical and vocational education.

A further D49,956,000 will be distributed to 18 institutions under the second component to train young people and women in vocational programs aligned with labor market demand.

“In addition, under Window Two (2), eighteen (18) institutions will receive forty-nine million, nine hundred and fifty-six thousand Dalasis (GMD 49,956,000.00) as grants to train young people and women on relevant labour market TVET programmes,” President Barrow said. “These awards, amounting to over eighty-three million, eight hundred and fourteen thousand, seven hundred and eight Dalasis, twenty-four bututs (GMD 83,814,708.24), will intensify skills delivery and expand opportunities for our young people.”

The president said the latest awards build on the first round of SIE Fund grants launched in February 2025, when 25 TVET institutions received D30.87 million to enroll 1,087 students in demand-driven certificate and diploma programs.

According to Barrow, that initiative achieved an 80 percent completion rate and produced encouraging outcomes in employment and job creation.

He said the growing number of institutions seeking support through the fund reflects increasing recognition of the importance of vocational education in addressing youth unemployment and equipping workers with skills needed by the economy.

“I am encouraged by the broad interest this initiative has generated across the TVET ecosystem in the country,” he said. “It indicates the growing recognition among our institutions of the importance of TVET and the urgent need to improve training quality, relevance, and access for employability and job creation.”

Barrow also praised the selection process, saying it involved the Skills Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund Secretariat, the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority, the Technical Advisory Committee, and the Project Steering Committee. He noted that the World Bank had issued a “no objection” to the committees’ recommendations.

The grants, he said, will enable participating institutions to modernize workshops and training facilities, improve instructional quality, upgrade equipment, strengthen governance, and expand access to accredited programs in fields including agribusiness, information and communications technology, engineering, tourism, business, and the creative arts.

Congratulating the recipient institutions, Barrow urged them to manage the funds responsibly, describing the grants as an investment in both the institutions and the country’s future workforce.

“These grants are public investments in your institutions and in the future of the Gambian people,” he said. “Use the funds responsibly, efficiently, and strictly for the intended purposes.”