Ghana is one of the countries where SKY project is currently conducting research. This column will introduce Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Ghana, especially the TVET Council in Ghana (COTVET).

In Ghana, a radical TVET system reforms which were promoted from the 2004 White Paper on Education were conducted. In 2006, the legislation for the establishment of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) was approved and Governmnet of Ghana organized the COTVET as an agency that comprehensively coordinates the improvements in the quality of education, relevancy, and awareness of vocational training, including apprenticeships (Ansah et al., 2013).

Under COTVET’s mission “To be a world-class leader in coordinating skills development” and a vision “To coordinate and oversee a TVET system that produces a globally competitive workforce through quality oriented and demand-driven learning for national development,” the council has promoted the vocational training in Ghana (COTVET, 2019).

Here, the column would like to introduce two recent TVET-related programs.

1. Ghana TVET Voucher Project (GTVP)

Ghana TVET Voucher Project aims to provide competency-based training for experts, workers, and apprentices in the informal sector. Since 2007, the project has been funded by the KfW German Development Bank and is implemented by COTVET. Providing training vouchers to master artisans, apprentices, and workers who are registered by COTVET, participants will have the opportunity to enroll in a competency-based training course at a COTVET accredited institution.

The project currently covers cosmetics, home appliances, and automobile repair, construction work (welding), and garment making. According to COTVET officials, this project is an adequate provision of free educational opportunities for the informal sector, and contributes to gender equality since half of the project participants are women. In the future, GTVP plans to expand the scale to plumbing, furniture making, electrical maintainance, block laying, floor tiling, catering, and hospitality.

2. Zonal and National Skills Competition

In 2018, the TVET Council (COTVET) led a zonal and national skills competition in September and November. Under the theme of “Skills for work and national development,” it is expected to introduce world-class excellence in skills development, for young people to individuals already engaged various careers. The 2018 Zone and National Skills Contest is affiliated with WorldSkills International (WSI).

Seventy-eight individuals selected by competing in the zonal skill competition in September with six skills (Information Technology, Construction and Building Technology, Fashion and Creative Arts, Social and Personal Services, Transport and Logistics as well as Manufacturing and Engineering Technology) participated in the national competition in November 2018.

As part of the 2018 Global Skills Competition, six national competition winners held the Africa Regional Skills Competition, in which Ghana, Rwanda, Morocco, Liberia, Kenya, and Uganda participated. Ghana ranked first in the cooking sector, second in hairdressing, and the electrical wiring sectors, and third in the mechatronics sector. The skills competitions were successful in demonstrating to the world-class skills of young Ghanaians.

References

Ansah, S., K. and Ernes, A., K. (2013) Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Ghana: A Tool for Skill Acquisition and Industrial Development. Journal of Education and Practice. Vol. 4, No. 16. pp. 172-180.
COTVET legislation (2019) Retrived from http://cotvet.gov.gh/index.php/legislation/
COTVET outdoors free education for the informal sector (2019. 4.29) Ghana Web. Retrieved from https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/COTVET-outdoors-free-education-for-the-informal-sector-741832.
Ghana TVET project voucher launched in Western Region (2019. 4. 27) Ghana Web. Retrieved from https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Ghana-TVET-project-voucher-launched-in-Western-Region-741757
Ghana Wins Big At Worldskills Africa Kigali 2018 Regional Competition (2018. 11. 25) Retrieved from https://www.modernghana.com/news/900040/ghana-wins-big-at-worldskills-africa-kigali-2018-regional-co.html.

National Skills Competition launched in Accra (2018. 11. 6) Ghana Web. Retrieved from https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/National-Skills-Competition-launched-in-Accra-698463.