KAKATA, Margibi – The Japan Heavy Duty Operation School at the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata has graduated about 240 trainees in fields such as heavy equipment operation and hydraulic maintenance.

The training project was implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with funding from the Japan government. The Japanese heavy equipment manufacturing company, Komatsu, provided technical expertise.

During the graduation, UNIDO officially turned over the training facility to BWI to continue the technical training program.

Speaking during the occasion BWI principal, Harris Tarnue, said the graduation is a clear sign that the government is making a meaningful impact on the lives of young people by giving them employable skills.

“This program has strengthened our vision that through building partnerships, the government can achieve more in building the skills of the young people for employability in this country,” he said.

“Some of the graduates sitting here have already obtained employment with partners. This furthers that we are shifting from supply driven to demand driven technical and vocation education at the BWI.”

He said the heavy duty training is one of the two outstanding training programs at BWI, with the other being an agriculture training program established by a USAID program that includes a soil science laboratory.

Serving as guest speaker during the graduation, assistant commerce minister for industry, Morris Saryon, emphasized the importance of vocational and technical education as the bedrock for driving economic growth.

Saryon said youth empowered with such skills would gradually help to create a viable middle class to help Liberia reach the level of other countries in the sub-region.

Featured photo courtesy of the Japan Heavy Duty Operation School