 Tools
and equipment worth GH¢10 million
were, yesterday, presented to the ten Regional Ministers for distribution to
selected districts under the National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP).
The
tools and equipment include sewing machines, dryers, desktop computers and
printers, welding transformers, welding helmets, leather gloves, aprons,
chipping hammers, bricklayers trowel kit, head pans, shovels, spades, tape
measures and sledge hammers, among others.
These working gears fall under various trade
areas such as garments, cosmetology, ICT, welding and fabrication, carpentry
and joinery, and block laying and concreting.
Last year, five thousand Ghanaian youth
benefitted from the programme and were trained in garment making,
cosmetology, electronics, auto mechanics and welding and fabrication.
This year, with financing from the GETfund, the
programme has been expanded to benefit eight thousand youth from across the
country while four other trade areas such as ICT, Building and Construction,
Carpentry and Joinery, and Block laying and Concreting have been added.
In an address delivered on his behalf at the
presentation ceremony, President John
Dramani Mahama charged the Regional Ministers to
ensure that the tools were put to proper use for the benefit of the entire
society.
President Mahama noted that providing high
quality qualifications which were standardised and comparable across the
country would promote social mobility by enabling citizens to improve their
economic situations through training and work; improve labour mobility across
the country by allowing workers to respond to changes in the economy; and
provide a basis for establishing international confidence in Ghanaian
qualifications.
He, therefore, reiterated government’s
commitment to placing a bigger premium on technical and vocational education
and training.
President Mahama said the enactment of Act
718 and the subsequent establishment of the Council for Technical and
Vocational Training (COTVET) attested to that commitment.
He announced that all technical and vocational institutions
would now be required to be accredited by COTVET and to comply with its
regulations and standards to ensure that learners in the Technical and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector were properly trained and
equipped to meet the demands of a modern society.
President Mahama commended COTVET for the
role they were playing in building capacity in technical and vocational
education and training.
In his remarks on behalf of the Regional Ministers, Hon Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo,
Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, appealed
for the provision of seed capital to capacitate the trainees financially.
Hon. Nyamekye-Marfo expressed the hope that the NAP
would be extended to cover more districts.
The NAP is a scheme which seeks to impart
skills to the youth, particularly Junior High School graduates, who for one
reason or the other, could not gain access to Senior High School.
It is one of the initiatives designed by
government to ensure that no Ghanaian youth is left behind in the quest to achieve
a more developed society.
For its part,
COTVET is mandated by law
to co-ordinate and oversee all aspects of technical and vocational education
and training in Ghana.
|
Ghana.gov