From last year to present, four Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) institutions (BWI, Tubman High, Stella Maris, NVTC) have piloted a 3 months Solar PV curriculum, developed within the EU funded Light Up Liberia program.

On December 6th, Mercy Corps invited representatives of these TVET institutions, RREA, EnDev and private sector representatives to reflect on their experiences and think of how to move forward and sustain qualification of solar technicians in training institutions.

Participants of the workshop suggested to integrate solar into the regular programs of TVET, for instance a 2-year program could include electronics, electricity and solar technology, or it could be extended to a stand-alone course. A diploma course at a university could include more advanced theoretical aspects, planning, calculations and sizing of bigger systems etc.

Further, it would be good to include the Ministry of Education to establish national standards, and to align the curriculum with the regional ECREEE curriculum, so that they will be qualified in all West African countries. Other suggestions included to check for and ensure qualification of teachers, collaborate with the private sector to provide internship opportunities to students. Details to improve in the curriculum were to define pre-requisites, and include how to deal with batteries at the end of the life span. Also, participants wished information sharing between private and public sector on project implementation.