Government to retool vocational centres

Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), June 7, GNA - The government is working seriously to retool all the National Vocational Training Institute(NVTI) centres in the country with modern equipment to train the youth to make them more responsive to emerging trends on the job market.

When the programme takes off, master crafts persons and apprentices would be expected to take advantage of it to sharpen their skills to enable them to set up businesses and to provide jobs avenues. This was contained in a speech read on behalf of Mr Stephen Amponsah, Director of NVTI, at the inauguration of a 37-member cadet corps of Dormaa Vocational Training Center at Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Brong Ahafo Region. The inauguration was under the theme "Vocational Training: a key to job creation for the youth in the 21st century". Mr Amponsah noted that Ghana's yearning for rapid economic and technological advancement required that majority of the youth be provided with the training that would make them self-employable. He said a well-structured and adequately resourced vocational centre could empower the youth to take advantage of opportunities provided by the state to create wealth for themselves and society. This, he said, should include the provision of additional infrastructure, textbooks, furniture and other basic training tools backed by commitment from local government structures and support from traditional authorities.

Mr Amponsah warned the cadet corps to desist from conducting themselves as full fledged soldiers but rather to assist in providing security in their schools and exhibit exemplary behaviour for their fellow students to emulate.

Mr Vincent Oppong Asamoah, Dormaa Municipal Executive, said the Municipal Assembly had the conviction that the centre could assist in providing jobs for the youth in the area and was therefore sponsoring 72 students to train in various courses at the centre this year. He announced that the Assembly had also decided to award some of its development projects to the centre for construction to boost the centre's internally generated funds for its growth. Mr Richard Addo-Gyamfi, Manager of the center said the cadet corps was designed to promote discipline among the student body, inculcate in the youth the spirit of patriotism and motivate them to take up career in the security services.

He appealed to stakeholders in the school's progress to assist to market the centre to enable it to attract more students and patronage for its products. Highlights of the function included fund-raising in aid of the construction of a place of convenience for the students for which the school's Parent- Teacher Association donated 100 bags of cement.