By Edward Dankwah
Accra, March 9, GNA – Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Chairman of African Business Center for Developing Education (ABCDE), has reiterated the importance of Vocational and technical education in Ghana’s economic transformation.
He said Ghana’s industrialisation journey must be anchored on quality education and vocational training, which would equip young people, especially women, with the skills necessary to drive the economy.
Dr Spio-Garbrah was speaking at an International Women’s Day forum, on the theme: “Accelerating Action: Building Momentum for the Affirmative Action Act in TVET,” in Accra.
The event focused on how TVET has the potential to bridge the technical and vocational skills gaps and play a pivotal role in quickening the implementation of the Affirmative Action Act.
“If Ghana can master and control its capacity to develop men and women who understand and can practice the various disciplines in vocational and technical education, that is when I think our country will rise very fast and record all the various benchmarks that we are all looking forward to,” he said.
He highlighted the success of countries like Korea, Japan, China, and some European nations in mastering vocational and technical education, which had significantly contributed to their rapid economic growth.
The Former Education Minister pointed to China’s emphasis on engineering sciences, noting that the country had produced nearly a million engineers as part of a strategic initiative launched under their former leader.
“They discovered that the key to their success and growth has to be the study of engineering and technical vocational education,” he stated, and urged Ghana to adopt a similar approach to accelerate industrialisation.
Dr Irene Agyenim-Boateng, Vice-Chair, Public Services Commission, highlighted the TVET programme’s potential to bridge Ghana’s technical and vocational skills gap while playing a crucial role in accelerating the Affirmative Action Act.
She said those skills were essential for industrialisation and economic development but acknowledged the persistent gender disparity in technical fields.
Dr Agyenim-Boateng called for the effective implementation of the Affirmative Action Act to ensure women were not discriminated in education, leadership, or at the workplace.
She urged stakeholders, including policymakers and implementers, to take deliberate steps to accelerate the Act’s provisions, ensuring they went beyond theoretical commitments.
“We need to emphasise so we are not caught in the excitement of the coming-into-being of the Act, but to discuss ways to ensure the acceleration of the provisions outlined in there to secure the future of women in Ghana,” she stated.
She emphasised that building momentum for affirmative action must be anchored on effective communication.
Dr Eric Kofi Adzroe, the Acting Director-General, Ghana TVET Service, said Service was implementing strategies to ensure that both boys and girls had equal opportunities in technical and vocational education.
He highlighted the increasing demand for technical education, with more than 56,000 applications this year, demonstrating the growing awareness of its importance.
GNA
ABD