Effort to revive vocational education underway

A group of experts in the educational sector over the weekend ended a three day workshop aimed at implementing Competency-Based Training (CBT) to reform the Technical and Vocational Education Training in the country.
The workshop was organized by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) and supported by the Japanese Government, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The reform of TVET forms part of the overall Educational Reform Programme (ERP) launched by the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor in 2007.
TVET has been dormant for sometime and this initiative by COTVET seeks to revive the sector for sustainable economic development.
Addressing a group of media practitioners in Accra, Chairman of the Governing Council of COTVET, Napoleon K. Bulley noted that the country’s TVET system was faced with considerable challenges in the areas of demand and supply which according to him was marring the development of the economy in the area of capacity building.
He explained that technological and workplace changes have had major impact on the way work is done and the types of skills required in performing the task, especially on the advent of the knowledge economy where higher skills are required to compete successfully in the global market.
In effect, he advised that the country must develop programmes that would help TVET providers to equip learners with the requisite skills.
On the supply side, Bulley said TVET programmes have had to prepare a number of unemployed youth for formal work and employment.
According to him, about 160,000 students who finish Junior High School (JHS) every year do not progress to second cycle institutions because of lack of places.
“This cannot be allowed to continue, as it is a serious waste of human resource as this group of children have no skills whatever to equip them for work”, he said.
He averred that government, recognizing how serious the issue was affecting the country decided to offer one year apprenticeship training to those who were willing to avail themselves of that opportunity.
Mr. Bulley therefore advised the general public to change their mindset that TVET was meant for non performers in the country.
He also called on all individuals, NGO’s and corporate bodies to be concerned with education and come to their aid as government alone cannot shoulder all the costs of reforming the TVET sector to meet the needs of the industry.
“If the reform of TVET is to be successful, it is imperative that funding of TVET is diversified”, he stressed.
Three centers have been selected for piloting of the CBT approach in reviving TVET. The areas include Accra Polytechnic, National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) Pilot Training Center and Accra Technical Training Center.
The Chief Advisor of TVET’s projects, Kenji Kimura also advised the general public to change from the wrong perception that TVET is only for low achievers and school dropouts to the positive vision that new TVET is for promising young human resources for the next-generation industry as a national foundation.
TVET projects would be supported by JICA to assist COTVET in the reform process up to 2011.
According to Kimura, the occupational standards that were generated from the first training workshop would be validated by industry representatives present and would be used to write units or modules specification for use in education and training environment.