Ebo Hammond is new President of CILT Ghana

Mr. Ebo Hammond has been sworn in as the new President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Ghana at a colourful ceremony held in Accra.

The ceremony which was held at the Fiesta Royale Hotel in Accra also saw the induction of the 5th Governing Council of the Institute with the call on members to appreciate the role of academic and professional education to improve the knowledge, skills, attitudes and character formation of individuals, empowering them for the job market for national development.

The newly sworn-in President of CILT-Ghana, Ebo Hammond delivering his Presidential Address under the theme “The Role and Importance of Professional Education in National Development,” indicated that professional education should not be seen as a programme for the poor or less bright students but for all as part of building the skill-set of the nation’s human resources to help fit into all fields of national endeavors for accelerated development.

Professional education, he explained includes any training that improves the knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviour and character formation of individuals which fully empowers and makes them ‘already-made’ for employment.

He pointed out that, since academic education shows the ‘whys of things’, professional education shows the ‘hows of things’ and that professional education provides not only technical and industry-oriented knowledge, but also provides practical vocational skills needed for work to be accomplished with perfection.

“As an institute, we are of the view that developing professional education in the country must be a deliberate strategy of the nation but not an afterthought or for those who probably are not able to enrol in higher level education,” he noted, stressing that CILT also appreciated the decision of the government of Ghana to adopt the technical university (TechVas) system by elevating all polytechnics who qualify to such status.

He said, the TechVas system offers the advantage of combining academic education with professional touch and hope it will prevent the trend where graduates of polytechnics all moved in masses to acquire top-up academic degrees for acceptance in the industry.

This trend, he pointed out, threatened to defeat the objective for establishing these polytechnics, hence graduates from the TechVas system, now have the opportunity to progress to the highest professionally-oriented education.

“CILT Ghana is of the view that in a not too distant future, products of these technical universities will be most sought after in the industry which needs ‘already-made’ graduates with requisite skills.”

“… We implore the government to help resource these technical universities with the necessary equipment and tools needed for this type of universities.”

According to him, academic-oriented universities have also seen the importance of professional education and for that matter, have been collaborating with professionals, incorporating industry attachments as part of their faculty.

“CILT has shown the way in Ghana, with the accreditation of nine institutions, almost all of which are universities.

Ebo Hammond also mentioned that, for a more strategic approach to ensuring a holistic academic and professional education policy, there is the need for the National Accreditation Board to be overhauled and empowered to establish a more comprehensive framework to govern both educational systems.

“We therefore recommend that the structuring and review of the Act of the NAB into an Authority with a wider and higher authority to empower them to implement a comprehensive qualifying framework that takes into consideration both types of the education systems.”

He pointed out that CILT has remain the only professional body that is focused on end-to-end supply chain resolves to continue to provide professional leadership and support national development through its glocalized professional training programmes.

He said, the Institute is in the process of developing a professional-oriented Masters Programme in Logistics and Transport by partnering selected universities and colleges to offer to the public to contribute to ensuring professional education even at the highest level.

Ebo Hammond who was humbled and privileged by the confidence reposed in him by CILT said, CILT Ghana a Key Member of CILT Global since its inception in Ghana in 1965 has impacted on the country particularly in the area of professional logistics and transport training.

According to him, Ghana has the second highest accredited institutions (a total of nine and only second to Nigeria which has ten) offering its professional courses in supply chain, logistics and transport management.

“Ghana (CILT) is poised to become the country with most institutions this year when it successfully accredits about five more universities and colleges including one in the Republic of Togo. CILT Ghana’s Ground-breaking Role in Logistics and Transport Education in Ghana Professor Chairman, the foregoing reveals the foundational role of CILT Ghana in logistics and transport professional education in Ghana,” he said.

On his part, Professor Stephen Adei, professor of Economics and Leadership at Ashesi University who was speaking as the Guest of Honour at the event said, professional education is important to the growth of every nation and that lack of professional education a country will suffer great retardation in its development.

He said, the tonic for professionalism in good and quality basic education and when that is given less attention, it brew disaster which have serious consequences on the delivery of services.

Professor Stephen Adei, pointed out that in Ghana today, about two-third of public basic school students after spending nine years in school have become “functionally illiterates,” for a mere fact that there have absolutely been no supervision at the public schools, making students lack good basic education.

He mentioned that, CILT-Ghana as an institute can begin doing things differently to change the cycle by accepting the fact that one of the bastion of the country’s development is for the professionals to become professional.

CILT-Ghana has seen tremendous growth in membership which is now 574; growing its Chartered fellows to 18, and corporate members to 9 among others.

CILT Ghana has also seen tremendous growth in its membership base with more registered students/Affiliates that are pursuing the Institute’s professional programmes.

Its Membership (Members in Good Standing) now stands at 574with 18 Chartered Fellows, 98 Chartered Members, 65 Members, 384 Affiliates and 9 Corporate Members.

Six (6) more Institutes have been accredited to offer CILT courses in their various institutions.

Awards were given to outstanding members of the Governing Council, members, corporate members and fellows for their roles in building a successful CILT-Ghana.

New chartered fellows have also been inducted into the Institute.