29/08/2026
FROM SKILLS TO NATION BUILDING: HON. CLARENCE H. COLE CHALLENGES DISTRICT #17 YOUTH TO BECOME ARCHITECTS OF LIBERIA’S DEVELOPMENT
Brewerville, Montserrado County | August 29, 2026
Hon. Clarence H Cole has challenged young Liberians to move beyond waiting for opportunities and instead equip themselves with the skills, discipline, and innovation necessary to participate meaningfully in Liberia’s development.
Hon. Cole made the call on Saturday, August 29, 2026, when he served as Guest Speaker at the first graduation ceremony of the Global Technical Skill Training Center, held at Salem Baptist Church, G4 Junction, Brewerville.
Addressing graduates, parents, instructors, community leaders, and other distinguished guests, Hon. Cole described the institution’s first graduation as more than the awarding of certificates—it is “the beginning of a legacy.”
He emphasized that as Liberia’s infrastructure and economic activities continue to expand, the country will require a generation of technically competent Liberians capable of turning development plans into reality.
“Development requires skilled hands and skilled minds,” Hon. Cole emphasized.
The first graduating class includes young people trained in Computer, Graphic Design, Light Duty, Excavator Operation, and Truck Operation—disciplines Hon. Cole said are directly connected to Liberia’s digital, creative, transportation, technical, and infrastructure needs.
A MESSAGE TO DISTRICT #17
Connecting the occasion to his home community of District #17, Hon. Cole said the graduation represents what is possible when young people are given access to skills, training, mentorship, technology, and opportunity.
He challenged District #17 youth not to allow their current circumstances or neighborhood to determine the size of their future.
“Your neighborhood does not have to determine the size of your future,” he told the young people.
Hon. Cole further envisioned a District #17 where young people are not merely spectators to development, but active participants—operating heavy equipment, maintaining vehicles, managing technology, creating businesses, providing professional services, and building livelihoods.
“When Liberia's infrastructure development accelerates, our young people should not stand by the roadside watching development happen. They should be in the driver's seat.”
For Hon. Cole, youth empowerment must therefore go beyond political rhetoric. It must involve deliberate investment in the human capital of young people.
He reminded the audience that:
“Our youth are not the problem to be managed. They are the human capital to be developed.”
Hon. Cole also challenged the graduates not to treat their certificates as the end of their journey.
He encouraged them to pursue additional certifications, master their professions, embrace technology, understand entrepreneurship and financial management, and build their reputations around competence, discipline, safety, and integrity.
He urged the graduates to change the question from simply:
“Where can I find a job?”
to:
“What problem can my skill solve?”
According to Hon. Cole, the true value of technical education is not merely its ability to help an individual secure employment, but its capacity to enable that individual to create value and eventually create opportunities for others.
A CALL TO INVEST IN HUMAN CAPITAL
Hon. Cole also commended the parents and guardians whose sacrifices contributed to the success of the graduates, urging them to continue supporting their children's professional development beyond graduation.
He called on training institutions, government, communities, and the private sector to strengthen investment in technical and vocational education as part of Liberia’s broader development agenda.
He stressed that Liberia cannot depend solely on government employment to absorb its growing youth population.
“We need entrepreneurs. We need technicians. We need operators. We need designers. We need mechanics. We need builders. We need innovators. We need skilled Liberians.”
As the Global Technical Skill Training Center celebrates its first graduating class, Hon. Cole challenged the institution to continue producing not simply graduates, but competent professionals whose skills respond to the changing needs of Liberia’s economy.
The central message from Hon. Cole's address was clear:
Skills must lead to opportunity.
Opportunity must lead to productivity.
Productivity must lead to development.
And development must lead to a better Liberia.
As he concluded his remarks, Hon. Cole reminded the graduates that while today was a day to celebrate, tomorrow is the day to work.
He challenged them to leave the ceremony with confidence, humility, discipline, innovation, and integrity—and to use their skills not only to transform their individual lives, but also their families, communities, District #17, and the Republic of Liberia.
From Skills to Nation Building.
That is the Liberia Hon. Clarence H. Cole believes young Liberians can help build.
