Gabriel Gyamfi, the Bono Regional Director of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), has dismissed the perception that TVET education is reserved for the academically ‘dumb’.

Instead, he said TVET holds the key to addressing unemployment and advancing the nation’s industrialisation, urging families to encourage their children and wards to opt for TVET.

Gyamfi said that the nation’s TVET education was undergoing reforms, focusing on providing academic-industry opportunities for students.

The Regional Director said this when the Social Investment Fund handed over the site for the construction of an ultra-modern Climate Resilient Centre at the Nsoatre Technical and Vocational Institute (NVTI) in the Sunyani West Municipality of the region to the contractor.

The Accra-based TRACEF Construction and Engineering Limited is executing the GH¢6.5 million centre, expected to be completed within 12 months.

The centre, designed to focus on wood technology, fashion design, and digital skills, will be furnished with modern equipment to provide students with practical competencies that align with emerging labour market demands and promote sustainable livelihoods.

It is under the ‘Rebuilding Youth and Women’s Livelihoods through Entrepreneurship and Employment Creation’ component of the Post COVID-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project (PSDPEP).

In June 2022, the Government of Ghana signed a five-year (2022–2027) agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to implement the PSDPEP.

The project is financed through a grant facility of US$28.5 million and seeks to contribute to Ghana’s sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery in the health sector while supporting the restoration of livelihoods, income, employment opportunities, and private sector development.

Gyamfi explained that the government had given financial clearance for the employment of more TVET tutors this year.

MacDonald Acquah, the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, handed over the site on behalf of Abass Adams-Nurudeen, the Chief Executive Officer of the SIF, to the contractor.

He said similar projects were being undertaken at the Otaakrom Technical Institute in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region, Abetifi Technical Institute in the Kwahu East District of the Eastern Region, and the St John’s Vocational/Technical School in the Nandom Municipality of the Upper West Region.

He also advised the contractor to adhere strictly to the approved designs, timelines, quality standards, and all environmental and safety requirements.

Acquah called on the contractor to pay particular attention to environmental safeguards, climate change considerations, social inclusion, and gender issues, saying that the AfDB attached great importance to those aspects of the project.

Earlier, in a welcoming address, Alexander Sabi, the Principal of the NVTI, called for support for workshops, staff common offices, decent washroom facilities, a dining and assembly hall, and a kitchen.

Sabi said the institute had 1,169 students and appealed to stakeholders to help fence the institute to improve security.