'TVET must help Ghana fight galamsey, flooding' - Nana Oye Bampoe Addo

Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, Deputy Chief of Staff has urged Ghana to reposition Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a key driver of national development, arguing that the sector must deliver practical solutions to challenges such as illegal mining, flooding, waste management and water pollution rather than focus solely on certificates and employment.

In a Facebook post addressed to the Director-General and management of the Ghana TVET Service, she said the country must equip young people with practical skills to support industrial growth, improve infrastructure and reduce its dependence on external expertise.

“Resetting TVET goes beyond providing jobs and certificates,” she stated, stressing that the sector must help build a Ghana that can maintain its infrastructure, process its agricultural and mineral resources locally and harness its abundant solar energy.

She also called for skills development that addresses pressing environmental challenges, including illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey, flooding, poor waste management and water pollution.

According to Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, investing in the technical abilities and ingenuity of young people is essential to building a more productive and self-reliant economy.

She argued that the success of TVET should not be measured merely by the number of certificates issued but by the tangible contribution of graduates to communities, businesses and the wider economy.

“Our success must be measured by more than the number of certificates issued,” she said.

She explained that the impact of technical and vocational education should be evident in better-maintained roads and markets, factories operated by skilled Ghanaian technicians, and farms and processing plants that strengthen food security.

She further called for communities to benefit from the creativity, innovation and hard work of young people trained through the TVET system.

Nana Oye Bampoe Addo commended the leadership and management of the Ghana TVET Service for the progress made in strengthening the sector, saying a foundation had been laid for further improvements.

However, she urged stakeholders to build on those achievements by expanding practical training, promoting inclusion and deepening partnerships between training institutions and industry.

She maintained that equipping learners with relevant, industry-driven skills would give more young people the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to Ghana's development.

“TVET remains a vital building block of the Resetting Ghana agenda and the broader Accra Reset vision for Africa,” she said.

Her remarks place renewed emphasis on the role of technical and vocational education in addressing the gap between skills training and the practical needs of Ghana's economy, particularly in manufacturing, agriculture, renewable energy and environmental management.

For the sector to deliver the desired results, the call suggests that training must translate into employable skills, stronger local industries and practical innovations capable of addressing the country's development challenges.

As stakeholders deliberate on the future of TVET, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo urged them to renew their commitment to building a productive, inclusive and self-reliant Ghana.

“The future of Ghana will be built by skilled hands, innovative minds and empowered young people,” she said, wishing participants fruitful deliberations.