Technical education programme must revive lost trades

Artisans such as carpenters, electricians, masons and plumbers are very essential, not only because they are needed in the construction industry but also that every household, whether in developed or developing countries, needs their services.

Indeed, in the advanced world, it is extremely expensive to employ the services of such artisans as they are well respected because of their speciality and training.

This has led to many people learning how to do basic masonry, carpentry, plumbing and electrical works.

The opposite, however, seems to be the case in Ghana where, because of the little respect accorded people engaged in masonry, carpentry, welding, plumbing and other trades, many have sought other vocations, thereby leaving a very big gap in the provision of those services.

Perhaps the trend has been occasioned by the fact that many people in those vocations learnt the trade from wayside artisans who themselves did not have any formal training on the vocations.

What that has resulted in is shoddy work by most artisans who sometimes cause more havoc when they are contracted to do some work by individuals.

But this used not to be the case in Ghana.

The idea of the polytechnics was to provide formal technical know-how for people in the trades listed above, so that they would become more proficient in their chosen fields and also gain some dignity and pride in their work.

Unfortunately, this very laudable aim of the polytechnics has now given way to the desire to rather go for various degrees for mundane and sometimes non-existent jobs, to the detriment of the middle manpower trades.

Some individuals who hitherto engaged in masonry, plumbing and the like have discarded those professions for others or gone to study the Social Sciences, thereby increasing the already large number of unemployed degree holders in the country.

It is for these reasons that the Daily Graphic lauds the government for its attempt to reverse the trend under the Development of Skills for Industry Project (DSIP) in Ada.

We believe that the aim of the project — to expand technical and vocational training in Ghana through the provision of modern infrastructure for 10 technical institutions, two polytechnics and one university — is long overdue.

We join President John Mahama who did the sod-cutting for the commencement of the project to ask Ghanaians to disabuse their minds of the notion that vocational and technical training is for the academically deficient and the last resort in the pursuit of one’s career.

It is that impression that has killed the desire of the youth to gain the requisite skills in various vocations and made them shift their focus to sometimes meaningless and unproductive degrees.

Our hope is that the DSIP will turn the fortunes of the country around regarding the middle-level trades and also offer the youth life-changing options in their choice of careers after school.

We urge the government and its partner, the African Development Bank (AfDB), to ensure that the funds required for the smooth implementation of the programme are made available to not only revive technical and vocational training but also lessen the pressure on our universities, as well as begin the process to accord pride of place to hands-on skills training by the youth.