The German Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Daniel Krull, has underscored the need for the Government of Ghana to continue to prioritize Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as the main driver of its educational reforms.
This, he said, is the surest way to help reduce unemployment among the youth.
Ambassador Krull made the observation at the opening ceremony of the 2021 National Skills Competition and TVET EXPO in Accra organized by the Commission for TVET in collaboration with the Ghana skills Development Initiative (GSDI IV), a project commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development under the Programme for Sustainable Economic Development (PSED) and co-funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
He disclosed that Ghana has been part of the selected countries in the reform partnership with Germany since 2017; a partnership that prioritizes three areas: Energy and Climate; good Governance and Training; and Sustainable Economic Growth for decent jobs.
In the area of sustainable economic development, he stated that the BMZ has committed over forty million Euros (€40 million) to fund activities in the TVET sector alone in the last three years through GIZ Ghana and KfW which have been working closely with the Government of Ghana for the last decade supporting the reform of the TVET sector.
“This demonstrates the commitment of the German Government to the development of the TVET sector in Ghana,” he stated.
In his address, the Vice President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia stated that for sustainable development to occur, there is an urgent need for Ghana to pay significant attention to train highly skilled human resources to serve as key drivers of the economy.
“A Ghana beyond aid could only be possible when the youth are equipped with competitive global skills and introduced to various skilled careers,” he stated.
For this reason, the Government has taken bold steps to sanitize the TVET sector through the introduction of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act as well as the introduction of several other policies all aimed at improving the TVET sector in the country.
The National Skills Competition is one of the tools being employed by the Commission for TVET (CTVET) to change the negative perceptions about TVET in Ghana and increase enrolment into Technical and Vocational Institutions in Ghana.
It is also aimed at encouraging creativity, innovation and competitiveness among learners and instructors for the improvement of TVET in the country.
Ghana is the 81st member and the first West African country to join World Skills International, a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to promote the image of skills and skilled careers through competitions and exchanges for the youth.