COTVET, GIZ Ghana Sign MoU To Enhance TVET Programs

The Government of Ghana (GoG) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GIZ Ghana to enhance cooperation and development of Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Component of the Program for Sustainable Economic Development (PSED) which implements the Ghana Skills Development Initiative (GSDI - IV).

The MoU, which was signed on 31st of August 2020 between the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) on behalf of the Government of Ghana and GIZ Ghana will extend the partnership between the two organizations to 30th September 2022.

According to a press statement issued in Accra and signed by Mr David Kweku Babayara, Communications Officer for PSED/TVET Project, the MoU was initiated by Dr Fred Asamoah, the Executive Director of COTVET and Mr Detlev Jahn Axel, the Head of Program for the PSED at GIZ Ghana on behalf of their respective organizations.

It said the major thrust of the MoU was to promote a mutually beneficial cooperation between the two organizations during the implementation of the fourth phase of the Ghana Skills Development Initiative (GSDI IV), a project which is being co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and

the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented in partnership with COTVET.

At the signing ceremony, Dr Fred Asamoah, the Executive Director of COTVET according to the statement stated that, “In as much as we need to set some standards to guide our collaboration and relationship going forward, we can always be flexible to make sure that this MoU is implemented successfully, depending on the situation at every point in time."

GSDI IV started in October 2019 and is expected to be completed by September

2022. It aims to produce high-quality, standardized TVET to improve professional skills that meet the needs of the labour market, which is expected to promote the greater employability of young people in Ghana.

The statement said the project supports COTVET’s innovative approach to introducing competency based training (CBT) standards and will focus more on a certain shift of interventions from the micro to the macro level with a stronger support on anchoring processes for the collaborative, competency-based training model within the Ghanaian public institutions, the TVET system and the private sector.

It said direct beneficiaries of GSDI IV Project include job-seeking youth, apprentices, workers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise owners in the formal and informal sectors. GSDI IV will also particularly motivate women to participate in training in TVET occupational fields that are predominantly dominated by men and vice-versa.

BACKGROUND OF GHANA SKILLS DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (GSDI IV)

The Ghana Skills Development Initiative (GSDI) is a project commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in cooperation with the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) and other public and private sector stakeholders.

In Ghana, approximately 85% of the economically active population work in the informal sector. The traditional training of apprentices makes up for about 80 to 90% of the overall technical and vocational education and training (TVET). However, most TVET programmes and training providers do not meet the demands of the private sector.

The GSDI Project seeks to improve the quality of TVET in Ghana by enhancing the skills and qualifications of job-seeking youth, apprentices and workers as well as owners of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

GSDI IV is the fourth phase of the project. It was also commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) under the Programme for Sustainable Economic Development (PSED is being implemented from October 2019 until September 2022 with additional funding support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The main objective of this phase of the project is to ensure that the Ghanaian TVET system produces standardized and high-quality education to improve the professional skills of the youth which will meet the needs of the labor market and lead to employment promotion.

GSDI IV will directly impact the activities of Ministry of Education, COTVET, COLTEK and other umbrella organizations such as FEPTAG, ASSI or AGI, TEU, Training Providers (TPs), Trade Associations (TAs) and other enterprises and other TVET Certificate awarding bodies.

The major areas of support for GSDI IV include but are not limited to the following.

1. Development of a system for the certification of master instructors and the piloting of a recognition of prior learning (RPL) system

2. Stronger focus on capacity development for COTVET in the areas of TVET coordination, registration and accreditation, curriculum development, quality assurance and M&E;

3. Capacity development for FEPTAG, ASSI, AGI and other umbrella trade organizations Support in conducting campaigns aimed at improving the image of vocational education and empowering women in future-oriented careers

5. Support to COTVETs organizational and institutional development in Accra as well as in planned regional offices

For more information about the GSDI Project kindly visit www.ghanaskills.org.