4,000 youths benefit from TVET Voucher Project

The Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training (COTVET) is empowering hundreds of craftsmen and apprentices in the Northern Region through the implementation of the Ghana TVET Voucher Project (GTVP).

So far, over 4,000 beneficiaries have been trained, and the Northern Region alone has recorded 933.

They received training through the informal Competence Based Training (CBT) system, in beauty/cosmetology, consumer electronics, automotive repair, building construction and garment/tailoring/dressmaking.

Other areas are plumbing, furniture making and electrical installation study mounted by the Dabokpa Technical Institute in Tamale.

The project is funded by the German-Ghanaian Financial Cooperation through the German Development Bank (KfW).

The bilateral project is gradually reducing Ghana’s unemployment ratio for which reason the beneficiaries are calling for its sustainability.

The project was launched in 2017 and was originally implemented in the Northern, Volta, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions.

It has been upscaled to the Western, Central and Eastern regions.

Two million Euros was allocated for the first two phases and the phase 1 ended in October 2018 whilst the phase 2 commenced on November 1, 2018.

A team from the German Development Bank (KfW) during an assessment tour of the Dabokpa Technical Institute was impressed with the school’s output.

The team leader, Dr Elke Luedemann commended the school’s management for making good use of the resources made available to achieve the project’s objective.

The Project Manager at the KfW Head Office, Frankfurt, responsible for Education, Health and Social Protection for West Africa, Dr Elke expressed satisfaction for the good work and urged the school’s management to avoid complacency.

She reaffirmed the German government’s financial commitment to train Ghanaian youth to be self reliant.

The Ghanaian team leader, Collins Armah was equally impressed with the Dabokpa Technical Institute management’s performance in line with the dictates of the GTVP implementation.

The COTVET’s Coordinator in-charge of Assessment and Certification, Seth Oku Asamoah rejected the widespread misconception that technical and vocational education was meant for school dropouts.

He said the COTVET would intensify its collaboration with the media to encourage the youth to take advantage of the project and acquire manpower skills.

Mr Asamoah also pleaded with parents and guardians to develop interest in their wards acquisition of knowledge, particularly in the informal sector.

From: Yakubu Abdul-Majeed, Tamale