Forum underscores relevance of skills training
Stakeholders in education have contended that education and skill training in Ghana should be considered from a global perspective to produce graduates who can effectively compete in the corporate environment at the national, regional and global level.
Advertisement
In a 16-point communique, they emphasised that a strong and structured collaboration among education and training institutions, the government and industry in a broader national framework aligned to the country's development goals was urgently needed.
The 300 participants highlighted the need for the involvement of industry and employers in the labour market in the design of education and training curricula.
The communiqué
The communiqué, which was read by the Pro-Vice Chancellor of University of Mines, Tarkwa, Professor J. S. Y. Kumah, said it was necessary to review the country’s educational system to equip school leavers with productive skills and inculcate in them the values and norms to make them responsible citizens.
It stated that the foundation of education in Ghana must be strengthened by improving the quality of basic and secondary education through conscious efforts to enhance the governance system and decentralise supervision, management and accountability at the school level.
The event, which was held on the theme, "Achieving a strong partnership between education/training and industry: The way forward", sought, among other things, to engage people in academia and industry, as well as students, to find lasting solutions to the problem of unemployment in the country.
It brought together resource persons from educational institutions, industry, policy makers and students.
Increase duration of internship
The communique underscored the need for those who undertake industrial attachment to be provided with ‘competent’ certificates and also extend such attachments beyond the three-month periods to give students sufficient time to link the classroom work with what pertains at the workplace.
Collaboration between industry and schools
With regard to technical and vocational education training (TVET), the communiqué said TVET must be strengthened to make the youth in the informal sector employable.
"There is the need for industry and training institutions to collaborate periodically to provide stakeholders with data and statistics on job opportunities, required skills and skills available through regular skill-gap surveys to guide education/training and policy," it said.
Invest in top-up training
The communiqué urged industry to be prepared to invest in a top-up skill training programme to suit its needs, adding that "Skills training should be accompanied by government policies that favour the development of indigenous industries."
The communiqué further established the need for the National Council for Tertiary Education to liaise with academia and industry to strengthen the partnership between education and industry.
"The government should consider special incentives for industries which show stronger collaboration with education and training institutions," it said.
