In May 2020, NCTVA has conducted refresher trainings at four TVET institutions (TVIs) on the application of the newly developed Integrated Certification Software (ICS). Local software developer iDT Labs has created a new web-based certification software for NCTVA, in close collaboration with the German International Cooperation, also referred to as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The ICS homepage can be accessed at www.ics.nctva.org and will digitize and decentralize NCTVA certification processes for TVET in Sierra Leone.

NCTVA IT Unit representatives such as Abdul Razak Mansaray, Ahmad Tapsiru Bangura and Isata Bah trained staff at St. Joseph Technical Institute in Lunsar on the 6^th, at Eastern Polytechnic in Kenema on the 8^th, at Murialdo Institute of Management Entrepreneurship and Technology in Kissy on the 20^th and at Government Technical Institute in Kissy on the 21^st May 2020.

Representatives from these institutions had enjoyed training on ICS applications prior, namely on the 16^th and 17^th March 2020, culminating in the 6^th Certification Expert Panel (CEP) workshop held at Sierra Lighthouse Hotel the following day, during the course of which the ICS was officially handed over to NCTVA. The training sessions in May 2020 served both as a refresher training for the TVI representatives that were present in the March 2020 proceedings and a multiplier training for further staff members from the four TVIs mentioned above.

In June 2020, NCTVA in close collaboration with iDT Labs, GIZ and the TVIs will launch a pilot phase of ICS in order to test the system and optimize it for a full rollout later in the year. Feedback on the refresher training was overwhelmingly positive, partner TVIs are eager to test out the new digital system, as it alleviates the workload on TVI administrative staff tremendously.

The refresher and multiplier training on ICS was accompanied by handing over ceremonies of IT equipment, including internet modems, that GIZ provided for the four partner TVIs in order to guarantee smooth operations of ICS, as the system depends on a reliable internet connection. NCTVA strives to digitize its certification process fully after a two-year transition period, during which offline procedures will be increasingly substituted by ICS as more TVIs get connected to the internet.