By: Francis Abedi
Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Prince Armah Hamid says Technical and Vocational Education and Training, TVET, is the most practical avenue for acquiring readily employable skills for the job market.
He said Ghana needs skilled labour force and in particular competent artisans and technicians to fill the skills gap in various sectors of the economy.
Mr. Hamid entreated the youth to appreciate the role of TVET to develop their practical talents.
He made the call when the Committee visited the Kumasi Vocational Training Institute, in the Suame Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The Kumasi Vocational Training Institute is among five centres under the National Vocational Training Institute in the Ashanti Region. The others are the Institute of Business Studies, Kumawuman Institute of Skills Training, Heman Buoho Vocational Training Institute and Testing Department.
The Kumasi Vocational Training Institute is an accredited technical and vocational education and training provider in the country. The Parliamentary Committee on Education was conducted round the facility by the Manager in charge of the Institute, Richard Gyamfi.
The Committee’s visit was part of an inspection tour of ongoing TVET projects around the country to assess their progress and report back to Parliament.
Vice-Chairman of the Committee, Prince Armah Hamid said there is now general awareness that the acquisition of employable skills is key in the fight against poverty and that at the national level, a skilled workforce is an important drive to economic growth.
The youth, in particular, should therefore appreciate the role of TVET in developing their practical talents for self-employment.
Manager in charge of the Institute, Richard Gyamfi while commending government for taking steps to improve TVET through upgrading and infrastructure improvement appealed for more support in equipment retooling to help in upgrading the skills delivery of students.