By Joyce Danso
Accra, March 18, GNA – Mr Tsornam Akpeloo, Chairperson of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Greater Accra branch, says Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) is Ghana’s future and appealed to the government not to relate it to the background.
Mr Akpeloo appealed to the government to continue to focus and give it the needed attention to bridge the gap between the high demand for skilled labour and industries.
According to him, although there was a high unemployment rate in the country, some industries also lacked skilled labour and those industries often had to rely on expatriates to fill in the gaps when it came to skilled labour.
Mr Akpeloo said this at the Vocational Training for Females (VTF) Programme Validation and Dissemination Workshop in Accra.
The VTF in January 2024 commissioned an evaluation to assess the impact of VTF work over the year within the framework of skills development, gender inclusiveness, socio- economic empowerment, and livelihood enhancement.
VTF over the past 20 years has been working with stakeholders to address the bottlenecks in TVET system to uplift its image in Ghana and make it a viable career choice for the youth through the implementation of various interventions on macro, institutional and micro levels.
VTF programme, a non-governmental organisation, initiated by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana as a response to the rising unemployment problem among the youth especially females, conducted research to assess its impact over the past 20 years.
Mr Akpeloo noted that over 70 per cent of what Ghanaians were eating and wearing was because of TVET, however, industries needed skilled labour to meet targets.
He said there was a need for all to be concerned about curriculum development which would meet the demands of industries.
Dr. Mrs Leticia Osafo Addo, Board Chair, VTF Programme, said Ghana had a lot to do in the TVET space to be able to obtain international standards and practices that produced the “best skilled workforce to drive the country’s industrialisation agenda”.
Dr Mrs Addo called for more commitment and funding for TVET to address the myriad problems in the sector.
Additionally, she said it was important that stakeholders continued to educate the public to do away with the negative narratives about TVET.
Dr Adom Baisie Ghartey, the lead Consultant, who presented research findings, said a total of 25,456 had benefitted from VTF from the year 2012.
He said out of the beneficiaries, 15,331 were females and 10,125, males.
He noted that the introduction of free Senior High School had increased enrolment in the TVET Sector.
“Increasing enrolment in TVET Sector has resulted in large class sizes, with a potential focus on theoretical approach to lesson delivery. This undermines the essence of practical training for the youth.
“The expected outcome of perpetuating theoretical training within TVET may defeat the purpose of all these reforms and interventions.”
The Consultant who recounted the numerous benefits of TVET, especially in job creation, called for continuous advocacy to heighten awareness and address challenges appropriately.
GNA