34 Vocational training institutes to be retooled
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has announced a seven million Euro package for the retooling of the 34 vocational institutes under the ministry.
Advertisement
The amount is part of a 31 million Euro assistance package from the European Union (EU) to support skills development training and provide employable skills to the youth in the country.
Mr Iddrisu made the announcement when he visited the Yamfo Vocational Institute in the Tano North District of the Brong Ahafo Region to assess the state of the institution and see how it could be retooled.
His visit followed a question posed in Parliament by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North, Ms Freda Prempeh about efforts to retool the Yamfo Vocational Institute and provide it with the needed infrastructure to enable it to provide skills training for the youth.
After inspecting infrastructure and obsolete tools at the ramshackle workshops, Mr Iddrisu said the government was committed to resourcing the vocational institutions as part of its plans to solve the rising unemployment in the country.
President John Dramani Mahama cut the sod for the beginning of the construction of modern infrastructure projects under the Development of Skills for Industry Projects (DSIP) with funding from the African Development Bank recently.
Catering Module
Mr Iddrisu announced the institution of a catering module under the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) which would involve the sponsorship of interested youth in catering in the various vocational institutions.
“We plan to train between 5,000 and 10,000 people under the module when it begins”, he said when he inspected the makeshift catering department of the institute.
State of Vocational Institutes
The Yamfo Vocational Institute as well as the 33 other institutions under the Ministry of Employment have been operating with obsolete equipment and from inadequate infrastructure over the years.
According to the Executive Director of the National Vocational Training Institute, Stephen Amponsah, the country had to take a second look at the training institutes since they have the capacity to change the fortunes of the country for the better.
Achievements and Problems
In his address, the Manager of the Yamfo Vocational Training Centre, Mr Philip Effah Atakorah said , the institute had trained many people since its establishment in 1977.
Some of the past students, according to him, were now building contractors, carpenters and electrical contractors while others were gainfully employed in the government sector such as the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Prisons Service and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
Fact File
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu has announced a 7-million Euro package for the retooling of the 34 vocational institutes under the ministry.
The amount is part of a 31 million Euro assistance package from the European Union (EU) to support skill development training to provide employable skills to the youth in the country.