The German International Cooperation, also referred to as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), concluded training for 294 staff and students from seven educational institutions across Sierra Leone. The training was facilitated by Maryam Darwich, change management consultant and managing director of Afriqia HR Solutions, and her team comprising Jonathan Abdul-Shereef and Sylvester Macavoray. During the course of 11 weeks starting from 9th April 2020, Afriqia HR Solutions trained staff and students at different educational institutions on COVID-19 preparedness. The training was funded by the European Union. Institutions benefitting from the training were:

National Council for Technical Vocational and other Academic Awards (NCTVA), with 45 staff trained on 9th April 2020;
Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE), with 39 staff trained on 21st and 22nd April 2020;
St. Joseph Technical Institute (SJTI) Lunsar, with 43 staff and students trained on 6th May 2020;
Government Technical Institute (GTI) Kissy, with 47 staff and students trained on 20th May 2020;
Murialdo Institute of Management Entrepreneurship and Technology (MIMETECH), with 21 staff and students trained on 21st May 2020;
Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCET), with 38 staff and students trained on 28th May 2020;
Eastern Polytechnic (EP) Kenema, with 61 staff and students trained on 18th and 19th June 2020.

The objective of the training was to capacitate staff and students at educational institutions with knowledge around COVID-19 as well as basic infectious preventive measures. There are plans for GIZ and the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education to roll out training on COVID-19 preparedness to other educational institutions across Sierra Leone.

Information materials on COVID-19 are accessible in the TVET Library.