Government has launched a National Apprenticeship Policy which aims to deliver a well-coordinated, inter-sectoral national apprenticeship system to enable all categories of learners to acquire relevant skills for employment, livelihood empowerment and socio-economic development.
The launch of the policy which was done during the National TVET Expo 2022 in Accra provides a robust regulatory framework for meaningful partnerships, social dialogue, institutional arrangements among the key stakeholders and strong labour market relevance.
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister for Education who was at the launch indicated that the goal of the policy is to provide a framework for harmonizing apprenticeship practice in Ghana and also provide mechanisms and guidelines for effective coordination and implementation of good practices in apprenticeship practice for economic growth and national development.
He explained that the policy will help actors in the development of appropriate interventions to move the apprenticeship sector in the right direction in contributing to skill development, decent work, and economic and social development.
The education minister stated that the symbiotic relationship between Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and national development cannot be over-emphasized.
He further added that the development of skills that meet a changing labour market across a lifetime was crucial for inclusive and sustainable growth, productivity, and innovation, adding that TVET, digitalization and greening were driving deep changes and economies could only benefit if learners develop the right skills and competencies.
Dr Adutwum indicated that it was an undeniable fact that the provision of TVET was the solution to the mounting unemployment among Ghanaian youth and therefore the need for the nation to have balanced skill demand and supply in our educational system, especially in our part of the world.
The education minister also stated that education and training were central to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and President Akufo-Addo’s vision of transforming Ghana.
He said there was a need for the nation to pay attention to TVET specifically regarding access to affordable quality TVET for the acquisition of technical and vocational skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship; the elimination of gender disparity and ensuring access to the vulnerable.
The Director General of Commission Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, in his address stated that TVET held enormous potential for propelling Ghana’s economy to attain the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda and hence the purposeful investment in the sector by the government in addition to the introduction of key reforms for its transformation.
He said the National TVET Expo was aimed at providing a platform for multi-sectoral collaboration towards promoting TVET in Ghana and bringing it to the forefront of national discussions.
Marketing and communication were central to any organization’s success and TVET marketing and communication meant active engagement in understanding the needs of the industry as well as learners and responding to those needs, the director added.
Dr Asamoah indicated that it was based on that background that the government set out as part of its five-year strategic plan to transform TVET to introduce the MyTVET campaign in 2019 and through efficient and productive marketing and communication with all relevant stakeholders, the TVET system in Ghana will be known for providing high-quality education for all students and a skilled workforce for the economy.
The Deputy Minister for Education in charge of TVET, Madam Gifty Twum- Ampofo, also praised the government for providing a coherent legal and institutional framework for the TVET sector to be accountable and responsive to the demands of the private sector and other stakeholders.
