By Michael Kofi Kenetey
The Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Gifty Twum Ampofo, has urged graduates of Technical Universities in the country to develop synergies with their colleagues with concrete business proposals to get financial assistance to start joint businesses.
This is to help in job creation among the youth graduating from technical universities by using their hands-on skills to start businesses on their own to be self-reliant.
Madam Twum Ampofo gave the advice during the 20th Congregation of the Koforidua Technical University, KTU, in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital.
The 20th Congregation of Koforidua Technical University saw the graduation of 658 graduands from Bachelor of Technology, B-TECH and 1,740 graduands acquiring Higher National Diploma, HND in various disciplines.
This has brought to the number of 22,997 graduands of the University in B-TECH and HND since 2010 to date.
The Deputy Minister of Education in Charge of TVET, Madam Twum Ampofo, speaking on the theme “Embracing New Technologies and Creative Thinking to Drive Positive Change,” advised the graduands to bring on board the hands-on skills they had acquired to start businesses and employ others.
She urged the graduands to take advantage of the competency-based training of technical universities facilitated by the government in TVET education to form synergies to be their own employers and not employees seeking jobs after graduation.
The Vice Chancellor of KTU, Professor John Owusu, stated that the University during the years under review, has received 589,000 cedis from GETFund for the construction and completion of its projects.
This, he said, together with the Internally Generated Fund of the University, IGF has made the completion of most of their projects possible. While expressing his gratitude to the government, he also appealed to the government to increase the level of funding for the University to meet its increasing population.
The CEO of Mikkado Holdings Limited, Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo, advised the graduands that the knowledge they have acquired in school alone is not enough to guarantee their success; they must add good attitude and skills to the knowledge acquired to be successful in life.
The Overall Best Graduating Student and B-TECH Student went to Frank Otchere Djan, while the Best Graduating HND student went to Jacob Yaro Kwasi.
A 56-year-old Programmes Staff of GBC in Koforidua, Michael Osafo Debrah, who graduated with a Second Class Upper Division in B-TECH in Marketing, spoke to GBC NEWS about his motivation to embark on such an academic journey at his age, noting that as technology is helping in the emerging economies of countries, there is the urgent need to acquire requisite knowledge to ensure high productivity.
He encouraged everyone to take initiative in embracing new technologies and creative thinking to drive positive change in society.
He noted that every inch of the country falls under a traditional authority without whose permission no one can settle and spread their ideology, pointing out that the phenomenon of violent extremism has gained routes in French countries due to the absence of traditional authorities.