Strategic plan for technical, vocational education ready for Cabinet
A draft national strategic plan for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Ghana has been developed and endorsed for presentation to the Cabinet for approval and implementation.
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The 10-year plan, which is designed to promote and drive the development of skills in the country, was endorsed by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) at a validation workshop in Accra.
The development of the plan was led by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), under its Development of Skills for Industry Project (DSIP), with support from the African Development Bank (ADB) and in collaboration with stakeholders from the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the development partners, industry and institutions.
Addressing participants at the final round of consultations at the workshop, Mr Mathew Dally, the Project Co-ordinator and Head of the COTVET Project Support Unit (PSU), said the strategic plan was expected to provide a rejuvenated focus on the TVET sector and make the TVET more relevant to the needs of industry in Ghana.
Need for TVET plan
Mr Dally said the need for a new National TVET Strategic Plan was informed by evidence to the effect that a successful TVET regime in Ghana was dependent on the existence of a relevant and responsive strategic plan that encapsulated and reflected the exigencies of all sectors.
In a presentation, a TVET consultant, Dr Henry Akplu, said in a liberalised global economy, competitiveness was key to a country’s survival, adding that competitiveness did not depend so much on natural resources but on quality of human resource, which he described as the driving force behind science, technology, business sophistication and innovation.
He called for the reform of TVET financing, the provision of incentives to reward and encourage efficiency and effectiveness in TVET provision, equity in funding allocation across the public sector and the establishment of a an agency to be responsible for the funding of the TVET.
Skills needed for growth
In a presentation on the DSIP, Mrs Gertrude Addo, the National Technical Assistant of COTVET, said the project aimed to support high quality middle-level technical and vocational skills needed for the growth and development of the Ghanaian economy.
She said the DSIP, which became effective in January 2013 and was expected to end in June 2017, was being funded with US$124.36 million, made up of US$72.04 million from the African Development Bank, a grant of US$40.02 million, also from the ADB, and Ghana’s contribution of US$12.3 million.
Under the project, she said, equitable access to TVET would be expanded, human and institutional capacity developed, quality and relevance improved and project management enhanced to ensure the effective implementation of the project through COTVET and other partner agencies.