Ghana: Tema schools benefit from TVET career fair
Students of eight basic and second cycle schools in the Tema Metropolis have participated in a day’s career fair on the benefits of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).
The fair was organized by the Vocational Training for Females (VTF) Programme on the theme: “Preparing the youth towards productive employment through (TVET)”.
Ms Linda Agyei, Director of VTF, said the fair was organized to create a platform for students to interact with successful people in society who had TVET background while creating awareness on the need for a career path towards the acquisition of skills.
Ms Agyei added that students had to know the realities of the job market as it was currently changing from the clerical area to that of vocational and technical.
« It is unfortunate that the country’s school curriculum does not include strong industrial skills, producing graduates who could not access the lucrative part of the job market, especially the industries, « she said.
She said it was about time that Ghanaians changed their perception that TVET education was the perserve of academic failures adding that such unfortunate views made it unattractive to students.
She added that it was demeaning for people to look down on people in TVET programmes reminding Ghanaians that skills training was the one thing needed for the country to create wealth as evident in the booming economies of China, Singapore and other Asian tigers.
The VTF Director appealed to government and people in authority to stop paying lip service to skill training and rather consult with people in the field to formulate effective and achievable policies that would turn the fortunes of the country round through TVET.
Mrs Bernice Ofori, Tema Metropolitan Educati
on Director, on her part, said Ghana desperately needed TVET as according to her the formal sector was chocked making it difficult for a large number of present and potential job seekers to gain employment.
Mrs Ofori therefore implored students to choose skill based programmes to enable them have a well focus career projection that would put them in a better position to become entrepreneurs revealing that over 80 per cent of students chose to read General Arts at the secondary level because they did not know what they want to be after school.
“Why do we still choose General Arts when those graduating with general arts skills are not getting the jobs, the trend has changed and we must also change, ”she stated.
Dr Stephen Turkson, TVET Consultant reiterated the benefits of TVET saying while most people in the formal sector retired from active service at age 60, those with skills could still earn a living even after that age.
He added that it was the master key to a country’s development, stressing that students should go beyond the perception of people and venture into vocational and technical skills acquisition saying “people who have labeled us as unachievers and failures come back to us with their monies to build their dream houses for them, design their dresses, make them up among others”.
There were other presentations from Mrs Emelia Narh, Human Resource Manager of Accra City Hotel, on, “Employer expectation towards prospective employment : the case of the hospitality industry”, while Mrs Comfort Akroffie-Yanney, CEO of Cozy Couture spoke about, “The prospects within the fashion industry; preparing towards a fulfilling business”.
Mr Tsonam Akpeloo, Greater Accra Regional President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), spoke on, “The entrepreneur’s attitude for success; opening up to technology (ICT)”.
