Jobs and skills project to be implemented this year – Akufo-Addo

In line with his government’s commitment to addressing the issue of youth unemployment through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), President Akufo-Addo has disclosed that his government will commence the implementation of the Ghana Jobs and Skills project this year.

This project seeks to expedite the development of competency-based training curricula on the National TVET Qualification Framework for 100 trades/professions from level one (1) (National Proficiency 1) to level five (5) (Higher National Diploma) as well as training some 25,000 beneficiaries and provide entrepreneurial support to about 50,000 individuals.

“It will also seek to implement the Ghana Labour Market Information System, and upgrade of district public employment centres and services,” Nana Akufo-Addo stated.

The President said this in his first State of the Nation Address (SoNA) delivered before Parliament on Tuesday, 9 March 2021.

He further revealed that they are also building 32 TVET institutions across the country to augment existing infrastructure for effective TVET delivery.

He added that as part of his commitment to the advancement of Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the government will continue with the development of 20 STEM centres and eight model Science Senior High schools across the country.

These institutions according to Nana Akufo-Addo will be fitted with state-of-the-art equipment and laboratories, which will facilitate teaching and learning in all areas, including artificial intelligence and robotics.

In the President’s view, to improve quality education and ensure that Ghanaian students become globally competitive is to maintain the integrity of examinations and assessment. In connection with this, he said his government, working through the West African Examination Council (WAEC), will introduce new measures to curb examination leakages and malpractices.

Touching on teachers, Nana Akufo-Addo acknowledged that the teacher is at the centre of every reform in the field of education.

He said: “Prioritising the welfare of teachers remains a key objective of Government. After the restoration of teacher training allowances, Government is now paying professional allowances to both teaching and non-teaching staff. I am happy to announce that Government is facilitating the acquisition of two hundred and eighty thousand laptops for members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concern Teachers (CCT) this year. Moving forward, the Minister for Education will soon detail an action plan for the implementation of the National Teacher Policy.”

The President continued that government has also introduced several interventions at the high school level which include the GHS198 million academic intervention support programme dedicated for extra classes for students in SHS, implementation of free internet connectivity for secondary schools, full absorption of BECE registration fee for all for students in public junior high school from 2017 till date, and full absorption of WASSCE registration fees for students, which started last year.