President Akufo-Addo and Prof. Frimpong-Boateng shaking hands after the sod-cutting
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday cut the sod for the commencement of work on the upgrade of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system in Ghana.
Cutting the
sod on the premises of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR) at East Legon, Accra, for work to commence, President Akufo-Addo said
the country had not taken advantage to train more people in skills development.
“We shall
be able to transform Ghana’s economy and reduce unemployment when we pay
attention to technical and vocational training,” he said, adding, “That is
where the skills needed for the growth of the modern economy can be developed.”
He said “what
I envisage in the technical and vocational education sector would involve a
truly radical change in attitude on the part of all of us.”
He said the
NPP government is committed to investing heavily in technical education for the
country to benefit immensely.
“We have to
do everything we can to enhance our self-reliance and capacity to drive our
industrial and economic transformation ourselves, and that is the project of
Ghana Beyond Aid,” President Akufo-Addo said, adding “that is why we are
launching this major project to help emphasize the importance of TVET, and
redeem the misconception that technical and vocational education is inferior,
and patronized only by less endowed students.”
President
Akufo-Addo said the first component of the project comprises refurbishing the
existing infrastructure and construction of new infrastructure for the existing
34 NVTI centres; refurbishing the existing infrastructure and construction of a
new head office, 10 regional offices and five apprenticeship offices;
procurement of equipment for 26 trades and ICT equipment for all 34 NVTI
centres.
He also
said that competency-based training would cover 700 trainers across 34 NVTIs;
course curriculum alignment and content development for the 26 trades; project
management: resources and manpower; and transport facilities, i.e. the provision
of a 33-seater bus for each of the 34 NVTIs and 4×4 pickups for the head office
and regional offices.
The second
component of the project, he added, comprises the setting up of two new
training centres for foundry and machining workshops, with one at the CSIR
centre in Accra, and the other at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology.
He added
that it would include building and developing infrastructure for the two new
vocational training centres; procurement of equipment, including training
equipment for Foundry and ICT equipment; competency-based training for the
trainers in these centres; course curriculum alignment and content development;
project management: resources and manpower; and transport facilities, i.e. the
provision of a 33-seater bus.
The third
and final component of this project, President Akufo-Addo indicated, comprises
the upgrading of existing Opportunities Industrialization Centres in Greater
Accra Region.
“Government
believes that this integrated approach will improve the quality of our TVET
system across the entire educational system, and result in the empowering of
our youth. We must work hard in ensuring that our youth do not see technical
and vocational education as a last option, when considering their future,” he
said.
