8000 Artisans earmarked for proficiency skills training
About 8,000 apprentices, master craft persons and workers in the informal sector are to benefit from proficiency training in their various fields of endeavour to improve upon their skills and productivity.
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The initiative by the government is called the Ghana TVET Voucher Project (GTVP) and is funded by the Ghanaian-German Financial Cooperation through the KfW Bank.
With implementation by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) through PLANCO, an international consulting firm, the initiative seeks to link the artisans to opportunities in technical and vocational education.
Additionally, it seeks to institutionally strengthen TVET stakeholders, such as training institutes, trade associations and COTVET, and establish a consistent incentive system for vocational training providers by taking into consideration the labour market relevance of such training.
Successful pilot
Launching the initiative at the Kumasi Technical Institute at the weekend, the Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, said the government prioritised skills development through critical projects such as GTVP.
He said the initiative was being rolled out in four regions, after which based on a successful pilot, it would be implemented nationwide.
The regions were the Ashanti, Volta, Greater Accra and Northern and the project would focus on providing training for master craft persons, apprentices and workers from the cosmetology, consumer electronics, automotive repair, welding, tailoring and dressmaking sectors.
“This initiative by the government further epitomises its avowed commitment to making education, especially technical and vocational, attractive and accessible to all Ghanaians. We strongly believe and affirm that technical and vocational education is the driving force of our industrial and economic development. In fact, it is a hard fact that technical and vocational education has been the bedrock of development of advanced countries such as Japan, Germany, the United States of America (USA), Britain, just to mention a few,” he said.
Dr Opoku-Prempeh said in addition to GTVP, the government had outlined a set of strategies to provide a sound footing for skills development and job creation.
These included the establishment of a database for trained apprentices and artisans, the setting up of a national apprentice recruitment agency, the setting up of a portal to assist artisans to market their products and supporting the institutionalisation of business incubation and industrial apprenticeship systems to ensure that innovative ideas were transformed into businesses, while new graduates acquired the basic technical competencies employers required.
Dr Opoku-Prempeh also disclosed that the Ministry of Education had initiated processes for additional funding from the World Bank to implement, among others, the Ghana National Skills Development Fund which would provide funding to more than 1,000 businesses for the purposes of skills upgrading, technology development and job creation.
He said the proposed project which would be managed by COTVET was expected to commence by the end of 2017.
First of its kind
The Executive Director of COTVET, Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, described the project as “first of its kind in Ghana”.
He said the initiative was the culmination of several years of work by TVET.
He added that COTVET saw the improvement of access to further vocational training by master craft persons, apprentices and workers as one of its core mandates, as well as strengthening trade associations and training institutions in the country.
He urged all master craft persons, institutional training providers, trade associations and awarding bodies not yet registered with and accredited by COTVET to initiate the process in the earliest possible time to enable them to benefit from the project.
“The government of Ghana believes that upgrading of skills and technology with a focus on the private sector is paramount to the development of the economy. This is why COTVET is working assiduously to continuously coordinate and support the delivery of skills and technology education in the country with a focus on industry-oriented skills and technology,” he said.
He added that COTVET would continue to pursue the agenda and expressed his gratitude to the development partners - KfW Development Bank and German Agency for International Cooperation GIZ -, the implementing consultants - PLANCO - and technical partners - GSDI - for their concerted efforts in making the project a reality.
Welcome to Kumasi
The Kumasi Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Osei Assibey Antwi, noted that Kumasi happened to be the hub of many artisans, especially in the automotive repairs sector.
He said it was, therefore, not surprising that COTVET decided to hold the event in Kumasi.
“The project is also coming at a time when most artisans lack modern skills to remain competitive and productive in this fast-moving technology-driven world. This is, therefore, an opportunity to develop their skills so that they can be active participants in their respective sectors,” Mr Antwi said.
“This is why we wholeheartedly embrace this project into Kumasi. I wish to assure COTVET of the unflinching support of the KMA towards ensuring that our artisans benefit tremendously from the project, in pursuit of the job creation and economic prosperity agenda of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” he added.
The chairman at the launch, the Amakomhene, Nana Adu Mensah Asare, said Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II attached tremendous importance to issues relating to technical and vocational education and skills development.
That was why, according to him, the Asantehene had chosen him to represent him (Asantehene) at the launch.
Background
The GTVP will provide demand-driven vouchers to the artisans in beauty/cosmetics (cosmetology), consumer electronics, automotive repair, building construction (welding) and garment/tailoring/dressmaking.
Each training voucher will cover the cost of institutional training, assessment and certification.
Artisans will not be required to pay back; however, beneficiaries must contribute by taking care of their transport and feeding costs during the training.