Woodworkers equipped with modern carpentry skills
More than 800 members of the Woodworkers Association of Ghana (WAG), made up of carpenters and woodworkers have completed an intensive course in modern carpentry aimed at sharpening their skills to meet international standards.
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Sponsored by the Skills Development Fund (SDF) of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), they were taken through computer aided design (AutoCAD), workshop management technics, workshop safety, flat pack or knockdown furniture.
They were also trained in advanced furniture finishing techniques, popularly called glazing and the use of state-of-the- art machinery and autoharp to manufacture their products in three dimensional (3D) designs.
To ensure that the woodworkers were abreast of international standards and current trends in the industry, COTVET has provided them with 48 laptops and two desktop computers, four screen projectors and four drilling machines, among other equipment.
They were drawn from the 10 regions and expected to retrain nearly 2,000 artisans.
WAG President
The President of WAG, Mr Raynolds A. Debrah, said the training had equipped them with the skills and the technical know-how to design any work and complete it in a manner that its quality would be equivalent to those imported, if not better.
He said the members would be able to manufacture better products and also train more youth to be self-employed, reduce the importation of wood products from abroad and save the foreign exchange used for imports.
He raised concerns about the type of plywood being produced locally and urged the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to ensure that standards were met.
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He said those types of plywood did not stand the test of time.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Director of the FCTC, Mr Joseph Boakye, noted that although there were very experienced and excellent woodwork in the country, majority had not upgraded their skills .
He also said the training had improved the poor finishing and not-up-to standard performance of the people.
He added that Ghana abounded in quality timber species better than those found in Europe and Asia and that if the local wood workers got adequate skills coupled with the right materials, they would be able to compete on the international market.