Germany invests $40m in Technical and Vocational Training

The German Government has invested about $40 million in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector in Ghana for the next five years.

German Ambassador to Ghana, H.E Christoph Retzlaff made this known at the launch of the National Skills Competition in Accra aimed at generating greater awareness on the importance of TVET and the development of skills for global and national economies.

Speaking at the event, the German Ambassador to Ghana said Germany has a long tradition in promoting TVET in the country because they are convinced a strong TVET sector will lead to the increase of employability and productivity.

According to him, focusing more on the technical and vocational sector will help the socio-economic development of the country hence the reason German Government is investing in the sector.

“The German support of the TVET sector aims at improving the quality of traditional apprenticeship system. We are very active in Ghana in the TVET sector since a couple of years and I’m proud to state here that our budget for the TVET cooperation with Ghana for the running five years is about $40 million”, he revealed.

Moreover, the Ambassador said his government has given an additional 25,000 young Ghanaians the chance to train in vocational training for the next two years because he believes that will push the industrialisation drive of the country.

He further stated that “despite being a lawyer myself, I have to admit that you cannot of course industrialise a country with lawyers and doctors only. Ghana needs the world skilled master craftsmen and women. In Germany, many successful businesses are run by master craftspersons. TVET needs to be seen as a viable alternative career path that provides training with similar economic opportunities as a university education.The Ministry of Education with support from Ghana Skills Development Initiative (GSDI) launched the maiden National Skills Competition which will run from November 6 to November 9 at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra.

Under the theme, “Skills for Jobs and National Development”, students from various technical and vocational schools across the country will compete against each other at the national level in order to represent Ghana at the World Skills Africa Competition.

On September 18 to 21, Zonal Competitions were run in Accra and Kumasi respectively in six (6) different skill areas. Out of it, 78 participants successfully qualified to be in the national competition.

The finalists have therefore been enrolled in different TVET training providers across the country and developing their practical skills in one of the following six skill categories; Information Technology, Construction and Building Technology, Fashion and Creative Arts, Social and Personal Service, Transport and Logistics as well as Manufacturing and Engineering Technology.

Six winners of the National Skills Competition, three from the Northern Zone and Southern Zones each will represent Ghana at Rwanda in Kigali from November 20 to 24, 2018.

The skills competition is being supported by the European Union, German Government, SECO, GIZ, Amatrol, De Lorenzo and Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The World Skills Competition is an international event where people not older than 25 years of age represent their countries and compete with each other in various artisanal trades and skills categories.