The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Kasena-Nankana Municipal of the Upper East Region, Mr Joseph Adongo, has observed that Technical and Vocational Education is very critical to addressing the unemployment challenges confronting the country.
He stressed that with the empowerment of the youth with Technical and Vocational Education , they stand to gain the needed employable skills which would make them self-employed by setting up their own business and employing more people .
The MCE who explained that this was one of the major antidotes to addressing the unemployment of the teaming youth in the country, underscored the need for paradigm shift from formal education to Technical and Vocational Education.
The MCE made the observation in Navrongo during the graduation ceremony of fifty-one female graduates who were empowered with employable skills in the areas of weaving, dressing making and beads making and soap making on Monday.
Our Lady of Mercy Community Services (OLAM), a Non -Governmental Organization with funding support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Senegal and the Germany Embassy in Ghana empowered the young girls in the Navrongo Municipal and in Paga in the Kassena-Nankana West through one year training .
In addition to the sills training and entrepreneurship training, the beneficiaries received start-ups kits such as sewing machines, weaving equipment and cash of monies to facilitate the setting up of their enterprises as well as certificates.
Mr Adongo stated that recognizing the significant role of Technical and Vocational Education to addressing the unemployment situation in the country set up an agency called Ghana Technical and Vocational Training Services (TVET) under the Ministry of Education to provide effective policy directions and coordination in skills development.
He stated that the Municipality was benefitin from such programmes and mentioned the Kassena-Nankana Technical Institute , Navrongo Technical Instiute and the St Bernadette Technical and Vocational Institute.
He encouraged parents to motivate their wards to undertake studies in fabrication Technology , Motor Vehicle Engineering among others to empower them gain employable skills and dispelled the notaion that only students who are academically who venture into the study of Technical and Vocation Education.
The MCE lauded the effort of OLAM and its partners and appealed to more development partners to assist OLAM’s to complement government’s effort at addressing the unemployment problem facing the country.
The Executive Director of OLAM, Mr Emmanuel Atiiga stated that the current graduation makes its the 8th graduation and explained so far over 1000 beneficiaries who were most disadvantaged girls and women in the project areas have benefited project and had set up their own businesses and employing others .
“This is to help reduce the skills gap among these persons since unemployment is now growing at a geometric rate Youth Unemployment is rising everyday and is even worse among our graduates coming out from the universities”, He stressed.
The occasion which under the theme” Reducing the Employable Skills Gaps through Vocational Education and Entrepreneurship Development “, was also used to showcase the products made by the beneficiaries.
