Speaker keynotes NETLIB ceremony at EJS
Graduation speeches are usually forgettable; this one carried a pointed warning. House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon told 359 NETLIB graduates that integrity, not skill alone, will determine their worth. He also urged them to give clients fair estimates and to resist inflating costs for personal enrichment. The setting matters. Vocational training remains Liberia’s most direct route from unemployment to productivity. NETLIB’s nineteenth graduating cycle, including its first associate degree cohort in engineering and computer science, shows the sector maturing. But skills without ethics reproduce the corruption graduates are meant to escape. Koon’s message, delivered from the Speaker’s chair, binds the Legislature publicly to the standard it preaches. Voters should remember it.
CONGO TOWN, July 20, 2026: The Speaker of the 55th House of Representatives, Richard Nagbe Koon, has stressed the vital importance of integrity and professionalism as foundational values for the next generation of professionals. Serving as keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony for Circle Nineteen of the NETLIB Vocational Training Institute and Batch One of the NETLIB College of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences, held over the weekend at the EJS Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, Koon underscored the essential role that vocational education plays in shaping the country’s development.
‘Integrity Is The Cornerstone’
Koon cautioned the graduates to remain professional in order to shape their futures and contribute to national growth. “Vocational training is not just about acquiring skills; it is about creating a blueprint for national progress,” he stated. “Now it’s time for our youth to embrace professional skills that will empower them to build a better future,” he added.
He, however, used the occasion to warn graduates against engaging in unethical practices in the workplace. “As you embark on your professional journeys, I urge you to provide your clients with fair estimates for your work,” he cautioned. “Do not inflate costs simply to enrich yourselves at the expense of others. Integrity is the cornerstone of any successful profession, and it is your responsibility to uphold it.”
Abdullah Kamara, the Founder of NETLIB, revealed that there are 359 graduates, including 350 who received Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) skills, while nine earned Associate Degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Kamara noted that this year’s graduation ceremony marks the nineteenth cycle of TVET education and Batch One of the NETLIB professional studies and applied sciences program in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “These graduates are equipped with skills that are not only valuable in the job market but essential for the growth of our economy,” Kamara remarked.