Tertiary students must acquire vocational skills – Prof Nyarko

Professor Kingsley Nyarko, Deputy Minister of Education in Charge of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), has advised tertiary students to acquire vocational skills to ensure self-employment.He contended that the country cannot continue to rely on the public sector to ensure economic prosperity and growth, pointing out that developed, progressive, and prosperous countries are built on vocational skills.'We should make a point to ensure students, especially those at the tertiary level, to learn or acquire at least a vocational skill,' he said during the inauguration of four Sector Skills Bodies (SSBs) in Accra.'In this day and age this country cannot continue to rely on the public sector to ensure our economic growth and prosperity… countries that have developed and are progressive and prosperous are built on vocational skills,' he added.The programme which is on the theme: 'Building demand driven skills for industry,' marks a milestone towards building a demand driven skills developmen t system in Ghana.It drew experts from industry, academia, and officials of the TVET Service.The four new SSBs, which comprise Telecommunication, Environment, Sanitation, and Waste Management, Media and Entertainment, and Electricals, Automation, and Electronics, will add to the 12 existing SSBs, bringing the total to 16 entities.Prof. Nyarko further stated that the goal of establishing the SSB was to bridge the skills gap by identifying specific required by certain people in various sectors.He advocated for increased collaboration between academia and industry, to enable students to get access to industrial equipment and workplace learning to improve their skills and capacities and increase productivity.'That is how we believe, we can navigate this country from our current difficulties into a more prosperous, advanced society that we are all yearning for,' he said.Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah, Director General of the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), said that the e stablishment of the SSBs was a significant step towards boosting TVET in Ghana.He said the government developed SSBs through the Ministry of Education and CTVET to act as a link between skills training and industry.Dr. Asamoah said the SSBs, as an organized group, represent the needs of specific industries or sectors by bringing together employers, employees, and other key players, to define the skills required for the workforce.He said the SSB's would help to ensure that the youth are prepared for the opportunities in the future.Source: Ghana News Agency