Sierra Leone took a significant step towards the establishment of a national micro-credential system recently when stakeholders from across the education and skills sectors convened for a national workshop in Freetown.
The session, facilitated by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), in collaboration with the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE), set out to build a shared national understanding of micro-credentials, identify a coordinated approach for strengthening skills development, employability, and flexible learning pathways, and develop a draft National Micro-credential Framework for Sierra Leone.
During the session, evidence from a country status review revealed that while educational institutions and government stakeholders displayed strong conceptual support for micro-credentials, many had low awareness of the practical implementation of micro-credential policies and activities.
Despite limited understanding, workshop participants entered discussions with a strong belief in the potential for micro-credentials to address skills gaps and widen access to learning opportunities. Participants also agreed that a proposed framework should be grounded in the country’s national realities, government priorities, and labour market needs.
Through a series of mapping sessions and breakout activities, participants collectively agreed on the necessity for staff capacity, quality assurance standards, industry recognition, clear definitions, and a robust ICT infrastructure for successful implementation. They also proposed short-, medium-, and long-term actions to guide the transition from concept to implementation, including measures to strengthen governance, develop recognition mechanisms and ensure that micro-credentials are credible and portable.
The draft framework is tailored to Sierra Leone’s local context and builds upon COL’s Micro-credential Framework and Commonwealth Credit Transfer Framework. It also directly supports the Gaborone Statement’s call that came out of the 12th Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning for “the alignment of micro-credentials and prior-learning recognition with labour-market demand.”
In her remarks, the Honourable Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie, thanked COL for its support, noting the initiative’s close alignment with the ministry’s priorities and plans for strengthening skills development and higher education in Sierra Leone.
The draft framework now awaits finalisation, formal approval and pilot testing at a minimum of one higher education institution. The Civil Service Training College has already been tentatively identified as a potential pilot site.
