MONROVIA – NaFAA’s first fisheries-focused TVET roundtable confronts a central weakness in Liberia’s youth-employment debate: training frequently ends before enterprise creation begins. The proposed model connects technical instruction with apprenticeships, business incubation, financing, equipment, mentorship and access to functioning markets. Its strength lies in targeting practical services already demanded across fisheries and aquaculture, from boat construction to refrigeration and fish processing. That market-led approach could reduce dependence on imported skills while creating businesses in coastal and inland counties. The critical question is execution. Government institutions and development partners must now convert the roundtable’s broad ambition into funded training hubs, credible certification and enterprise support. Young Liberians will judge it by businesses created, incomes earned and jobs sustained. THE ANALYST reports.
MONROVIA: The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) has convened its first Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Fisheries Roundtable, opening discussions on practical ways to equip young Liberians with market-driven skills and create employment, entrepreneurship and private-sector opportunities across the fisheries and aquaculture value chains.
Held Tuesday at NaFAA, the high-level roundtable was chaired by the authority’s senior management. It brought together the deputy minister for TVET at the Ministry of Youth and Sports and his technical team, representatives of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences, teams from the European Union-supported Strengthening Artisanal Fisheries and Private Sector Development projects, and NaFAA’s technical directors.
The roundtable was convened amid growing recognition that Liberia’s fisheries and aquaculture sector can serve as a source of food and nutrition while providing a major platform for skills development, youth employment, entrepreneurship, enterprise creation and inclusive economic growth. Participants examined the technical and commercial opportunities available to young people throughout the sector.
Entrepreneurship Beyond Conventional Employment
At the center of the discussions was the need to move beyond conventional employment models and develop a fisheries-focused TVET system that enables young Liberians to become skilled technicians, service providers, entrepreneurs and business owners. Participants emphasized that fisheries and aquaculture value chains contain numerous areas where young people can acquire specialized technical skills and establish viable businesses.
The opportunities are considered particularly important in coastal and inland counties where fisheries activities provide livelihoods and support local economic activity. Participants said appropriate training could enable young people to provide essential services currently unavailable or supplied at a high cost.
The roundtable identified several potential TVET areas that could be developed into structured training, incubation and enterprise-development programs. These include fishing-canoe construction, fiberglass-boat production, outboard-engine repair and maintenance, and the production and repair of fishing gear and nets.
Other proposed areas include fish-feed production and formulation; fishpond construction, installation and maintenance; fabrication of improved fish-smoking ovens and kilns; and the local production of fish-handling and preservation equipment. Participants also identified low-cost cooling and refrigeration systems, fish processing, packaging and value addition as potential areas for training and enterprise development.
Aquaculture production and farm management, cold-chain services, fish transportation, and the fabrication and maintenance of fisheries equipment and tools were also identified. The proposed program could cover other specialized services required across fisheries and aquaculture value chains.
Participants noted that many of these activities currently depend on imported equipment, technicians and services. They said that situation creates an opportunity for Liberia to develop a local skills base capable of meeting domestic demand, reducing costs and generating new businesses.
Skills Lead Toward Enterprise
A major outcome of the discussions was the recognition that fisheries-focused TVET should not end with the issuance of certificates. Participants proposed connecting training to a deliberate skills-to-enterprise pipeline that takes young people from technical instruction to practical experience, incubation, business development, financing and sustainable enterprise ownership.
Under the proposed model, young people would be trained in specific fisheries-related trades and placed in practical apprenticeship programs. They would also receive support to develop business plans, secure equipment and financing, access mentorship and connect with potential markets.
The approach would combine technical skills development with entrepreneurship, business incubation, access to finance, market intelligence and private-sector linkages. Participants said these components are necessary if training is to produce functioning businesses rather than unemployed certificate holders.
The model would allow young people to seek employment within the fisheries sector while also establishing businesses that provide services to fishers, processors, traders, aquaculture farmers, fishing communities and larger fisheries enterprises. Those businesses could eventually employ other young Liberians and expand the sector’s domestic technical capacity.
Market Demand Guides Training
Participants stressed that any future fisheries TVET program must be driven by actual market demand. Rather than designing training programs based solely on the availability of training institutions or existing curricula, they proposed beginning with a comprehensive assessment of the sector.
The assessment would identify existing and emerging skills gaps, market demand for fisheries-related products and services, and the interest and willingness of young people to participate. It would also examine available training facilities and equipment, opportunities for public-private partnerships, and potential locations for fisheries TVET hubs.
The study would map existing businesses and service providers capable of supporting apprenticeships, along with investment opportunities across fisheries and aquaculture value chains. It would also examine financing and business-development opportunities for graduates and determine appropriate training, incubation, certification and enterprise-development models.
Participants said the assessment would provide the evidence needed to determine which skills should receive priority, where training should be delivered and what facilities and equipment would be required. It would also help establish how graduates could transition from training into viable businesses.
Ministry Signals Readiness
Deputy Minister for TVET at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Laraamand S. Nyonton expressed appreciation to NaFAA for convening the roundtable and creating a platform through which government institutions and partners could explore the potential of fisheries as a vehicle for youth skills development and employment. He welcomed the initiative and emphasized the ministry’s preparedness to work with NaFAA and other stakeholders to expand the discussions and translate the ideas into concrete action.
Nyonton’s remarks underscored the importance of connecting Liberia’s national TVET agenda with productive sectors of the economy where young people can acquire practical skills and build sustainable livelihoods. Participants said closer institutional collaboration would be necessary to align training with the sector’s commercial needs.
European Union Projects Support
Teams leading the European Union-supported fisheries initiatives welcomed the roundtable, describing it as an opportunity to strengthen collaboration between fisheries-development interventions and Liberia’s broader youth-employment and skills-development agenda. The project teams expressed optimism about working with NaFAA and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to undertake a comprehensive sector assessment.
The proposed assessment is expected to establish a clearer understanding of skills and enterprise-development requirements across the fisheries sector. It would examine skills gaps, market opportunities, youth interests, existing facilities, training capacity, private-sector demand and potential institutional models capable of supporting a sustainable fisheries TVET framework.
Participants said the assessment would help ensure that future investments are directed toward areas possessing the greatest potential for job creation, enterprise development, value addition and private-sector growth. They maintained that investment decisions should be guided by evidence from the market and communities.
Counties Receive Decentralized Opportunities
The roundtable highlighted the importance of decentralizing fisheries skills development so that training and business opportunities are not concentrated only in Monrovia. Participants noted that Liberia’s coastal and inland counties offer different opportunities across marine fisheries, inland fisheries, aquaculture, fish processing, transportation, equipment fabrication, cold-chain services and other supporting activities.
A decentralized fisheries TVET model could establish or strengthen training and incubation opportunities closer to fishing and aquaculture communities. This would allow young people to develop skills that respond directly to economic activities within their counties.
For coastal communities, training could include canoe construction, engine maintenance, fishing-gear production, fish handling, processing, smoking, cold-chain services and marine-equipment fabrication. In inland communities, training could focus on pond construction, aquaculture production, fish-feed manufacturing, water management, fish processing, transportation and other aquaculture-support services.
Participants said decentralization could help create a network of local fisheries-service providers capable of supporting the sector while generating income and employment within communities. Such a network could reduce the need to bring technicians and services from Monrovia or outside Liberia.
Blue Economy Gains Workforce
The initiative is aligned with Liberia’s broader ambition to unlock the economic potential of its fisheries and aquatic resources under the country’s emerging Blue Economy agenda. By connecting fisheries development with TVET, youth entrepreneurship, private-sector development and enterprise financing, Liberia could begin building a stronger domestic system of skilled workers and fisheries-related businesses.
The proposed approach would establish a pipeline through which young Liberians are identified, trained, certified, mentored and incubated. They would then be connected to financing and markets and supported to develop sustainable businesses.
Participants said the model would shift the discussion beyond the conventional question of how jobs can be created for young people. It would instead focus attention on how young Liberians can receive the skills, equipment, financing and market access required to establish their own businesses and employ others.
The initiative consequently raises a broader development question: “How do we equip young Liberians with the skills, tools, financing, and markets they need to create their own jobs and employ others?” Participants said answering that question would require technical training to be linked deliberately with enterprise support.
Partners Pursue Action Plan
The roundtable concluded with a shared understanding that the discussions should mark the beginning of a structured process rather than remain a one-time engagement. NaFAA, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences, and development partners expressed interest in advancing the initiative through a comprehensive assessment and further technical engagement.
The next phase is expected to identify priority fisheries and aquaculture trades, assess existing infrastructure and training capacity, and map market demand and youth interest. It will also examine potential incubation models and develop a practical framework for implementation.
The ultimate objective is to establish a market-oriented Fisheries TVET and Enterprise Development Program. The program would prepare young Liberians for meaningful participation in the fisheries and aquaculture economy while creating opportunities for them to become entrepreneurs and employers.
For NaFAA, the roundtable represents a step toward repositioning fisheries as a source of food, livelihoods and economic activity, as well as a platform for skills development, innovation, enterprise creation and youth empowerment. The authority believes integrating TVET, entrepreneurship, technology, private-sector investment and fisheries value-chain development could help place young Liberians at the center of the sector as its next generation of skilled workers, innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders.