GIZ, EU launch VET Toolbox initiative in Ghana

The German Development Agency (GIZ) has launched the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Toolbox to train a highly skilled workforce able to support the development of local industries.

The VET Toolbox, funded jointly by the European Union (EU) and the German Government, aims to strengthen the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector to ensure employability for all, which will contribute to the sustainable growth of the economy.

It also seeks to promote demand-driven, inclusive vocational education and training, while targeting short-term technical expertise, and funding initiatives that promote inclusion of vulnerable groups in the formal and informal labour market.

The project, which began in October 2017, would last for five years and would aid the fast growing youth population to develop their skills to ensure employability.

Through the VET Toolbox, actors from civil society, private and public sectors can apply for support through the address; info@vettoolbox.eu.

Mr Robin Cordes, the Deputy Head of Cooperation, German Embassy, at the launch, said youth unemployment remained a global problem and an agenda to be pursued as people considered it a time bomb.

He said the world was already feeling the effects with wide spread agitations, unrests and the mass migration of youth from developing countries through dangerous means to Europe in search of jobs.

Mr Cordes noted that a recent International Labour Organisation report 2018 indicated that global unemployment rate was at 5.6 per cent in 2017, a figure which corresponds to 192.7 million unemployed persons, adding that this represented an increase of 2.6 million from the 2016 figure.

He said the situation was not quite different in Ghana, as the World Bank Ghana Country latest report aptly showed that about 48 per cent of unemployed persons are between the ages of 15-24 years.

This alarming increasing rate of youth unemployment, he said, was an indication of the challenge countries face in their efforts at reaching the global goal of ending poverty by 2030.

He said no single country or institution could do this alone, hence, the implementation of the VET Toolbox to encourage networking, dialogue and exchange of experiences through the web-based platform.

Mr Chikodi Onyemerela, the Acting Country Director, British Council, expressed the Council’s appreciation as one of the implementing agencies of the VET Tool, which would add value to reform initiatives.

Mr Andreas Hoth, the Lead Consultant and VET Expert, urged individuals, civil society, private and public institutions who needed o vocational education related support to apply.

He said inadequate private sector engagement in such initiative was detrimental to achieving success, hence the VET Toolbox, which made available the much needed expertise and practical advice to partnering countries.

He said VET policies such as labour market intelligence, private sector engagement and support would ensure the inclusiveness of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups for the total development of the workforce.