The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has revealed that over 60,000 new students have been enrolled in the 2023/2024 academic year in various government Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions offering free education.

According to him, this figure marks a substantial increase compared to the less than 20,000 students enrolled annually before 2017, adding that the total number of enrolments in Government TVET institutions now stands at well over 157,681, signalling significant progress in the sector.

The Sector Minister, Dr. Adutwum made these remarks at the TVET Symposium event held in Accra, on the theme "Advancing TVET and Skills Development Towards Sustainable and Decent Job Creation", where he highlighted the pivotal role of TVET in enhancing productivity and driving economic growth, especially in fields like engineering.

He emphasized the crucial role of the TVET sector in addressing the evolving needs brought about by globalization, technological advancements, and economic development and credited the current government's investment in the TVET sector over the last seven years as a key driver of this growth.

"Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) plays a vital role in underpinning productivity and driving economic growth anywhere in this world. The TVET system provides greater opportunity for Ghanaian youth to obtain relevant hands-on skills, gainful employment and fill much-needed industry positions, especially in the field of engineering" He said.

He further highlighted ongoing projects, including the upgrading and modernization of 34 National Vocational and Technical Institutes (NVTIs) and 10 Regional Offices, among others. These projects, supported with approximately 123 million euros, are set to be completed by July 2022. Additionally, two new foundries and machining centres are in progress, one at CSIR in Accra and the other at KNUST in Kumasi.

"TVET institutions are often in the best position to provide the kind of education that endows students with the skills — both technical and soft skills — that are in demand today and are likely to be even more important for the future of work. To fully capitalize on the potential offered by TVET, the government, through the Ministry of Education has made some urgent improvements within the TVET institutions.

"We have also initiated several policies as part of our TVET transformation agenda, and we are currently in the process of developing new Competency Training curricula, amidst massive investments in TVET infrastructure, and TVET teacher training, among others".

Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah, Director General of CTVET, on his side also echoed the commitment of the Commission to improving the quality, access, and relevance of technical and vocational education and training in Ghana.

He explained that the symposium, organized in collaboration with GOVET/BIBB of Germany, aimed to provide a platform for stakeholders to explore strategies, share best practices, and advance apprenticeship training for sustainable job creation.

This symposium reflects the ongoing efforts to regulate, promote, and administer technical and vocational education and training for transformation and innovation towards sustainable development in Ghana.

Furthermore, following the successful implementation of the enhancement and upgrading of the Technical and Vocational Education project by the Austrian Government, an additional 8.3 million Euros has been approved.

This will fund the provision of new workshops in various technical institutes and the rehabilitation of buildings in selected senior high technical schools.

The aim is to create employment opportunities, with at least 42,000 individuals expected to be employed in private enterprises six months after the implementation of the grant.