Industry must reach out to academia – Spio Garbrah

Trade and Industry Minister Ekwow Spio Garbrah says it is about time industry chieftains take the initiative and reach out to tertiary institutions to contribute to the development of a human resource needed by industry.

The Minister said considering the fact that a well-trained human resource is a useful resource for industry, it is in the interest of industry to take the much needed steps to bridge the proverbial gap that exists between the classroom and industry.

Speaking after a tour of the facilities of Intelligent Cards Production Systems Limited (ICPS), Mr. Spio Garbrah said: “the Ministry is encouraging many professionals as well as alumni associations of various schools and companies to release their staff, management staff in particular, to go back to our classrooms to bridge the gap.”

The Minister said such interactions with academia should take the form of mentorship which will allow the students to have a broader perspective of what prospects awaits them in their particular chosen field.

A healthy and useful relationship between academia and industry, he said, would be mutually beneficial to the two fronts.

He called on the management of ICPS, which is a subsidiary of the Margins ID Group, to consider having partnerships with some schools in order to impart its knowledge to students as they prepare for life after school.

Being the first ISO 9001-2008 certified full service card manufacturing facility, located in the country, Mr. Spio-Garbrah said government will soon reward the initiative of companies like ICPS that have shown a lot of zeal despite some challenges conditions that prevailed in the local economy.

The Minister, who was on a tour of some industries, expressed satisfaction about the scale and scope of ICPS’ operations the only one of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa.

He said plans are being made to pass a law that will bind government agencies to patronise locally-made goods and services. Being the highest consumer of good and services, government he said, must take a lead role in the consumption of goods and services produced locally.

Mr. Spio-Garbrah added that such a law will have repercussions for government appointees who flout them as well as rewards for those who show remarkable faith in them.

Addressing the press after the tour, Executive Chairman of Margins ID Group, Moses Baiden said the company which has been in the business of card manufacturing for over twenty years, was able to achieve its success because it placed value in its people.

He said it is important that companies seeking to emulate huge multinationals continue to invest in its people, which he said has no substitute.

ICPS, which is located off the Spintex Road, has about 5,000 square meter built-up area for card manufacturing and personalisation that produce up to 60 million cards per year as well as over over 51 million demographic ATM personalization capacity.