Education

TVET expert calls for collaboration between TVET and Industry

Mrs Belinda Smith, a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) specialist in Public Private Partnerships (PPP) with the British Council has reiterated the need for more collaboration between TVET and industry for the development of both sectors.

     She said the economic development of modern cities lied in the close collaboration between TVET institutions and industry, explaining that such partnerships provided skilled staff.

     Mrs Smith made the remarks to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) when she engaged heads of about 20 National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) institutions in the Volta Region on a three-day workshop on Public Private Partnerships in Ho.

     She said where there was close collaboration, student’s outcomes were better and they secured better paying jobs, thus, industries must help provide students with work experience. 

     “The closer the relationship between TVET and industry, the better the quality of training provided and also the better the outcomes for students in terms of employment and the better the outcomes for employers in terms of having skilled workers work for them”, she stated.

     Mrs Smith noted that training institutions usually contacted industries only when they needed them, and advised that “it should be an ongoing relationship”.

     “The partnerships that currently exist seems to be about the training institutes getting something from the industry, rather than them looking at what the real needs of industry are and having a win-win situation for both industry and the training institutions”, she stated.

     Mrs Smith said industrial collaborations resulted in quality training as teachers developed new skills, and prepared lessons more relevant to the labour market.

     She said it would provide teachers and students with access to work places and gain understanding of current workplace practices, and develop their needed attitude and soft skills.

     “When training organisations know what processes are used in a work place or what new technology is needed, they are able to provide training that can lead to productivity gains and increase income for those businesses”, the expert said.

     The workshop was jointly organised by Fair River International Association for Development (FARIAD); a community development non-governmental organisation, and the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI), with support from the British Council, the German International Corporation (GIZ), and Enabel.

       It was under the theme: “Revamping TVET for Technological Advancement and Economic Growth through Effective Private-Public Partnership and Collaboration”, with the main objective of equipping TVET training institutions to be able to approach industries, identify their training needs and design training programmes that would support their development.

     Participants were taught how to plan, prepare and research chosen industry sector, as well as how to approach employers and maintain strong partnerships.

     They were encouraged to build trust through open communication and realistic goals, and also to spend time developing realistic outcomes.

     Mr Joseph Agbeko, Executive Director of FARIAD, asked the participants to redefine their institution’s industrial collaborations, and promised that the organisation would hold similar training opportunities for more TVET impact in the country.

GNA

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