DRAFT TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND ...

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the assessment of readiness for skill learning be part of programme development,
depending of course on the type of programme.
(f) Career counselling and planning need to be incorporated into vocational training
programmes for young people; training should not focus only on present need but
should broaden the future career perspectives of the young people.
(g) Training infrastructure in most of Ghana’s vocational training institutions are
generally poor. Training interventions need to incorporate investment in basic tools
and equipment. One way in which Dutch civil society groups can assist with the
provision of tools and equipment is to mobilize the donation of tools such as hand
drills in good working condition. Such little donations can raise the productivity of
informal sector workers several times.
(h) The labour market in Ghana is a “difficult” one; to minimize the possibility of trainees
going back to the street after training, it will be important for specific training needs
assessment to be undertaken in developing skill training programmes. Labour market
needs should be assessed for specific areas.
(i) When it comes to the provision of skill training to economically disadvantaged
people, the question is who bears the cost While economically disadvantaged
groups need help, interventions must extract some amount of demonstrated
commitment from prospective beneficiaries. Totally “free” forms of assistance are
not only sustainable, they also attract the wrong people. For example, beneficiaries
may be asked to find and register their sponsors. Provision can however be made for
exceptional cases.
(j) Some recommended areas of focus or niches that Dutch partners may consider are:
i. Developing focused and integrated training programmes that equip people with
small-scale agro-processing technologies and marketing skills in line with the
national development goal of increasing manufacturing on the back of modern
agriculture;
ii. Skill training involving the transfer of appropriate technologies, such as the
building of solar energy product, small windmills, and other renewable energy
technologies.
iii. Integrated skill training and entrepreneurship focusing on new areas as the design
and production of product packaging materials using local raw materials.
iv. Partnering with organisations serving the skill training needs of vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups – such as the Ghana Federation of the Disabled and the
Presbyterian Church’s Vocational Training for Females (VTF), and the Young
Women Christian Association;
v. TVET instructor training a dying area that needs special attention; such
intervention will have multiplier effects and should be made accessible to private
TVET institutions which hardly invest in instructor training.
vi. General or specific advocacy work to get public officials, legislators, and
politicians to give practical support to TVET promotion. The advocacy may be
general or for specific interests such as gender and disability.
CONCLUSION
The TVET sector in Ghana faces many challenges. Foremost among those challenges
is the pressure to provide skills training to the vast majority of young people who drop
out of school early or are not able to continue formal education beyond basic