Advocacy workshop for engineers opens in Kumasi

Kumasi, Aug. 27, GNA - A two-day advocacy workshop to train engineers for increased application of labour-based methods for civil engineering works opened in Kumasi on Thursday. Representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Polytechnics and Universities in Ghana are attending the workshop which is being hosted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, Vice Chancellor of KNUST, said given the fact that Ghana spends significant chunk of its resources on infrastructure, it was imperative that the government looked for ways to create more employment from construction sector than it was currently doing.

He suggested the use of labour-based methods, which required training at all levels including the technical leadership of construction. The Vice Chancellor urged the Polytechnics and Universities to modify their curricular to better prepare the students towards this goal.

Professor Adarkwa noted that greater proportion of the nation's unemployed, who are poorly educated, had no skills to participate in the modern economy construction.

He said there was the need to support unskilled labour to contribute meaningfully towards developing the construction industry. Mr Kwaku Osei-Bonsu, a Senior Technical Specialist of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said the institution was happy to partner KNUST to introduce technology-based programmes in the curriculum of the Civil Engineering Courses to upgrade the skills of students. He said he hoped that the Polytechnics would soon embrace this development to enhance academic work.