President John Dramani Mahama has urged students pursuing courses in Technical and Vocational Education to approach their studies with diligence.
According to the President, technical and vocational education constitute the middle level manpower needed to transform the industrial sector of Ghana’s economy.
[contextly_sidebar id=”mTgo3IAgNc0vw5eUszalpy3zZxPbuOhn”]President Mahama made these comments when he cut the sod for infrastructural projects estimated at the cost of $124 million under the Development of Skills for Industry Projects (DSIP) for 13 Technical institutions at Ada in the Greater Accra Region.
He noted that 1,050 students have been awarded bursaries in various technical and vocational education and training institutions nationwide.
“This is to make it possible for them to continue and complete their technical education,” President Mahama noted.
The President further indicated that a total of 2,000 apprentices have been awarded bursaries to provide them with skills to set up their own workshops.
“2000 apprentices have been awarded with bursaries in the informal sector that allows them to be placed in industry and learn on the job in the informal sector and qualify as master craftsmen and are able to set up their own workshops.”
The Minister for Education, Professor Jane Naana Agyeman Opoku, also challenged girls to take advantage of the programme to become employable.
She said as part of the re-branding exercise of the Technical and Vocational programme, the Ministry will work with the Council for Vocational Education and Training to expand facilities in all their educational institutions.
The Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), is a national body set up by an Act of Parliament to co-ordinate and oversee all aspects of technical and vocational education and training in the country.
Their major objective is to formulate policies for skills development across the broad spectrum of pre-tertiary and tertiary education, formal, informal and non-formal sectors.
One of their key projects is the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system to improve the productivity and competitiveness of the skilled workforce, and raise the income generating capacities of people, especially women and low income groups, through provision of industry-focused training programmes.
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By Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana