Professions in Gambia

An occupation is the work a person performs, while a profession usually requires defined knowledge, skills, experience or registration. Local terms include trade, craft, artisan, skilled worker, technician, associate professional and professional. These categories overlap in everyday use, but the entry requirements differ. A regulated profession may require registration or a licence, while many trades and informal occupations rely on practical competence, an employer's assessment or an apprenticeship. The main pathways are formal higher education, technical and vocational education and training, employer-based training, apprenticeships, informal master-craft apprenticeships, trade testing, trade certificates, recognition of prior learning and foreign-qualification evaluation. University of The Gambia and other accredited providers support higher-education pathways. The Gambia Technical Training Institute legacy pathway is transitioning into the University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurship. Public and private technical providers are not equally available in every region, so access differs between urban and rural areas and between local government areas. The National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) provides the national accreditation and quality-assurance function. It licenses awarding bodies, tertiary and higher-education institutions, technical and vocational providers, trainers, assessors and verifiers. It endorses certificates, oversees the National Qualifications Framework, sets criteria for qualifications and partial qualifications, supports recognition of prior learning and credit transfer, evaluates foreign qualifications, and keeps records that include recognized professional bodies and craft persons. Recognition of prior learning can help document existing competence, but assessment, duration and cost depend on the relevant provider or authority. Foreign-qualification evaluation is also handled case by case. The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, NAQAA, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, the Department of Labour, the Public Service Commission and sectoral councils have different responsibilities. A public-service applicant normally follows the relevant Scheme of Service, which sets the minimum qualification for a post. Applications may require proof of qualifications, proof of birth and testimonials. The Public Service Commission handles public-service recruitment, training and discipline. Teaching and other public careers may also use the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education application portal together with public-service rules. Professional registration is required in some fields. The Medical and Dental Council of The Gambia regulates medicine and dentistry. An application can require the primary qualification, professional experience, registration or certificate of good standing, a passport, employer intent and payment. The Nursing and Midwifery Council verifies academic records and issues registration, certification and a practice licence. The practice licence is renewed yearly, while the professional certificate does not expire. The 2024 Gambian licence tariff listed D2,000 for the first level and D1,500 for the second level. Legal practice is regulated by the General Legal Council, and the Gambia Law School's Bar Professional Training Course is the gateway to admission to the Gambian Bar. Other fields may have their own professional bodies, registration rules or sectoral councils. The Labour Act 2023 links competence and safe-work training to workplace duties. Employers must provide free safety equipment where prescribed and register the workplace where the law requires it. An employer with at least five employees must provide written employment particulars by the start of work or within 14 working days at the latest. These particulars cover the job title, duties, pay, working hours, probation, notice, leave, sickness and pension details. The Act protects trade-union freedom and prohibits discrimination based on characteristics including gender, race, origin, religion, disability and political views. It provides six months of paid maternity leave and ten working days of paid paternity leave. Sick leave and annual leave follow the applicable joint industrial council arrangement, collective agreement or employment contract. The ordinary retirement age is 60 unless the contract provides for a later age. A disabled worker retains rights to career advancement and retention where residual capacity allows, and the employer funds retraining when it is needed. Apprenticeship has a formal legal basis when it follows an approved course. Under the Labour Act 2023, the default ratio is one suitable apprentice for every ten employees unless an exemption or substitution applies. The apprenticeship contract may be written or oral, and the employer has duties to retain the apprentice and provide training. Training pay cannot be lower than the apprentice's previous wages. The responsible authority may inspect training quality. An employee who has acquired competence may apply for a trade certificate through the authority or examining body. A draft National Apprenticeship Policy was still under validation in 2026 and should not be treated as enacted law. The labour structure explains why occupational access often differs from formal qualification systems. The 2022–23 Gambia Labour Force Survey recorded service and sales workers as 32.6% of employment, craft and related trades workers as 17.5%, skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers as 17.0%, elementary occupations as 13.8%, professionals as 6.8%, plant and machine operators and assemblers as 5.5%, technicians and associate professionals as 3.1%, managers as 2.2%, clerical support workers as 1.0% and armed-forces occupations as 0.4%. These are survey-based occupational shares, not a current vacancy ranking. Vocational education is more commonly associated with service, sales and craft work, while diploma and higher qualifications are more commonly associated with professional work. Among people entering professional occupations, the survey recorded higher-education entrants at 46.3% and diploma entrants at 43.8%. Wholesale and retail trade together with motor-vehicle repair accounted for 26.2% of branches, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing at 21.0%, construction at 10.7%, manufacturing at 9.1%, accommodation and food services at 6.0%, transport and storage at 5.6% and education at 4.6%. Across the wider economy, services accounted for 57.5%, industry 21.2% and agriculture 21.0%. Informal-sector employment represented 62.8% of employment, and informal employment represented 79.4%. Agriculture was 96.4% informal, while own-account work made up 69.0% of informal-sector employment. Women represented 45.8% of service and sales workers, 25.4% of skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers and 4.8% of craft workers; women held 29.7% of management positions. These figures show structural differences, not limits on which occupation an individual may pursue. Informal work can provide entry where formal certificates are unavailable, but it may offer weaker social protection and less portable proof of competence. Access can also be restricted by the cost of training or registration, concentration of providers in towns, limited employer opportunities, gender segregation, missing documents and difficulties proving earlier experience. Salaries, training duration, registration fees and assessment costs vary by occupation, provider, employer and professional council. There is no single fee, duration or salary that applies to all professions in The Gambia. A person comparing pathways should check the qualification level, recognition status, practical training, registration requirement, total cost, location, expected working conditions and whether the resulting credential is accepted by employers or a public authority.