The Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) has congratulated Ghanaian youth and encouraged them to seize opportunities that exist in the areas of science and technology.
In a statement released on Monday to commemorate the celebration of the International Youth Day on Tuesday, the Coucil said : “The youth of today, are faced with many daunting challenges, however, advances in science and technology have also presented the youth of the 21st Century with more opportunities than ever before. It is now up to our youth to explore these opportunities to the fullest as a way of propelling Ghana in its quest to become a developed country. This demands an awareness of global trends in different sectors, as well as a willingness to exploit these trends for the national benefit.”
The statement further encouraged the youth of Ghana to take advantage of the opportunities available in technical and vocational training to promote development.
“Many youth who had the foresight to venture into TVET are now reaping the benefits. Our economy is in need of well trained professionals in the manufacturing, agriculture, mining, ICT, fashion, and oil and gas sectors. Young people, who enter these fields as well as many others in the TVET sector, have the opportunity to be employed by local and international firms, or set up their own businesses.”
Below is full communiqué release by COTVET to commemorate the International Youth Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATEMENT BY SEBASTIAN DEH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COTVET ON THE CELEBBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY (AUGUST 12 2014)
The Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) would like to take the opportunity to salute the youth of Ghana on the occasion of the celebration of the International Youth Day.
As the Government Agency mandated by law to coordinate and oversee Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Ghana, we recognize the youth as our most important stakeholder. Indeed, they are the direct beneficiaries of our key policy interventions.
The youth of today, are faced with many daunting challenges, however, advances in science and technology have also presented the youth of the 21st Century with more opportunities than ever before. It is now up to our youth to explore these opportunities to the fullest as a way of propelling Ghana in its quest to become a developed country. This demands an awareness of global trends in different sectors, as well as a willingness to exploit these trends for the national benefit.
Over the years, different generations of Ghanaian youth have identified courses such as law, banking, accounting and politics as the key to prosperity and respect in society. Valuable as these have been in the past, the evidence clearly shows that its benefit to our society is limited in recent times. The growing number of university graduates who are joining the ranks of the unemployed each year, should send a strong signal to our youth to explore other avenues.
A study of the economic history of countries that have successfully industrialized and become economic powerhouses shows that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was given priority. It is impossible to become a modern society with efficient transport systems, well maintained roads and bridges, a vibrant manufacturing sector and a productive agricultural and extractive sector, without the necessary expertise to maintain such a system.
As the opportunities in the overemphasized sectors dwindle it is imperative that the youth of Ghana recognize TVET as the way to the future.
Many youth who had the foresight to venture into TVET are now reaping the benefits. Our economy is in need of well trained professionals in the manufacturing, agriculture, mining, ICT, fashion, and oil and gas sectors. Young people, who enter these fields as well as many others in the TVET sector, have the opportunity to be employed by local and international firms, or set up their own businesses.
We urge the youth of Ghana who have to take decisions about which courses to study or which careers to pursue, to take the time to find out about the opportunities available in TVET as a viable alternative to Grammar education. As the Black Nationalist leader, Malcolm X once said, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today”.
COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (COTVET)
Contact: George Ferguson Laing
Telephone: 0202052205
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.cotvet.org
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By: Benjamin Epton Owusu/citifmonline.com/Ghana