ILO Partner COTVET To Unveil Skill-UP Project For Skills Development

The ILO Ghana Office, in collaboration with the Council for Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), has unveiled the "Skill-UP Project" in Ghana.

SKILL-UP Ghana Project aims to move the TVET system from a supply to a demand-driven system by building on existing structures and strengthening institutional resources to promote a better understanding of the skills demanded in economic sectors.

Thereby, the ILO will aim to help the system to be more relevant and effectively provide the skills needed in the labour market.

The project aims to strengthen the skills development system at the national level, improve the skills development system to better match current and future labour market needs at the sector level, and make the skills system more inclusive.

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education, in a speech delivered on his behalf said despite the important role of actors in skills development under the informal sector they were not controlled by the government.

He stated that the majority of the people engaged in that male-dominated sector often had no formal certification and called for it to be properly regulated and encouraged women to venture into that sector.

Dr. Prempeh applauds the International Labour Organisation and the Government of Norway for their role in helping to reform Technical and Vocation Education and Training in the country.

Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah, The Executive Director, the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) said the project was well aligned with the plan for TVET Transformation 2018 – 2022 and that it would drive the quality and excellence of manpower, services, and products for industry competitiveness in line with global market standards.

According to him, the project would enable industries to generate reliable data on skills gaps, critical skills, and manpower needs through research for the development of a robust labour market information system.

Dr. Asamoah explained that it would serve as a platform that bridges education, training, and industry to draw on common synergy for the development of occupational standards and curriculum that would address the knowledge and skills gaps required by graduates to make them employable.

“We will have a hub of industry ‘think tanks’ to advise government and state institutions on the development of relevant industry policies, market trends and strategic interventions that will make industries remain competitive within the economy,” he said.

Dr. Asamoah said in the light of Government flagship agenda of “Ghana Beyond Aid”, the establishment of these sector skills bodies would surely be one of the strategic vehicles to realize the agenda.

The projects focus on facilitating the establishment of sector-level institutional structures of skills governance based on partnerships among the ‘Government, private sectors and other stakeholders.

Skill-Up Ghana project is part of a programme funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Norway, under Phase II (2018-2019) of the Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the Government of Norway and the ILO.