DRAFT TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND ...

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The aim is to achieve this by increased diversification and greater relevance
to 'the real workplace' in the technical and vocational curriculum and by
increasing the number of Technical Vocational Institutes and improving
Polytechnics. (GoG, 2002, p.14).
On gender, the ESP aims to “Provide girls with equal opportunities to access the full
cycle of education” and to achieve that the Ministry “aims to implement a number of
strategies targeted specifically at increasing female participation in the education
sector, in terms of enrolments, retention and completion rates.” (GoG, 2002, p.16).
The Ministry has issued the Report of the National Education Reform
Implementation Committee (NERIC) which worked out the details for the
implementation of the ESP. Under the reform, programmes at the TTIs will take four
years just like the SHS duration (MoESS, October 2007). The subjects available in
the SHS technical and vocational programmes and the TTI remain virtually the same
as they were in the past, except that TTIs will now include the core subjects in the
SHS curriculum so that their graduates can progress to the polytechnic. It is
interesting to note that while ICT (including Word Processing and Spreadsheet) are
among the core SHS subjects, typewriting remains an elective in the Secretarial and
Accounting clusters. The TTI curriculum appears to be more tertiary-education
driven than industry-driven though it is expected to use CBT methods.
2.4 Main Actors in the TVET Sector
The main actors in the TVET sector are training providers, technical and financial assistance
providers, certification, supervision, and regulatory agencies, and service support groups.
They fall into the following six categories:
(a) Government ministries
(b) Artisan, trade and professional associations
(c) Private proprietors of vocational training institutions, including NGOs
(d) Industry groups
(e) Development Partners
(f) Certification, supervisory, and regulatory bodies
Government ministries such as the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, Ministry of
Manpower, Youth and Employment, Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of
Tourism and Diasporan Relations are all providers of TVET; they own, fund, and manage
training institutions; they also make policies for skill training within their political mandates.
Artisans, trade and professional associations are the largest providers of skill training in the
TVET system. The associations include the Ghana Tailors and Dressmakers Association, the
Ghana Hairdressers Association, and the Association of Garages. These associations provide
skill training through the informal apprenticeship system in areas such as tailoring and
dressmaking, hairdressing, autobody works, automobile mechanics, masonry, electrical and
electronic repair, air-conditioning and refrigeration, and carpentry. Together this group
probably provides about 80% of the skill training needs of young people in Ghana – literate
and illiterate.
Private proprietors of vocational training institutions (for profit and not-for-profit) may be
individuals or organizations. As these providers may register with the NVTI, MoESS,
Registrar-General and other government agencies, it is difficult to establish the actual