Education Minister launches Ghana Skills Competition

Matthew Opoku Prempeh – Education Minister

The Minister for Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has launched the first-ever Zonal Skills Competition in Ghana, towards unearthing talents to develop a labour force, which would aid Ghana’s industrialisation.

The Ministry of Education, through the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), has thus planned the 2018 Zonal and National Skills Competitions, to inspire world-class excellence in skills development and to introduce the youth to a variety of skilled careers.

A statement issued in Accra, following the launch of the programme on Wednesday at the Ghana Technical University College, quoted the Minister as saying, “The development of skills in the country is one of the areas the government is paying critical attention to.

“Whilst several factors influence Ghana’s industrialisation effort, one significant factor that will contribute to the success of the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda is the development of a technical and vocational-skilled labour force.”

For the zonal competitions, the country has been divided into two; the Northern Zone and Southern Zones.

The Northern Zone consists of the Upper West, Upper East, Northern, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti regions, while the Southern Zone consists of Western, Central, Eastern, Volta and Greater Accra regions.

The Zonal competitions would end on Friday, September 21; while the National Competitions would be held from November 6 to November 9.

The theme for the Ghana Skills Competition is: “Skills for Jobs and National Development”.

The competition is in line with by the vision of the WorldSkills International (WSI), the global hub for skills.

In creating a global platform for skills, WSI inspires young people to develop passion for skills and pursuing excellence through competitions and promotions.

It works through international cooperation and development with industry, corporations, organisations, and institutions, to promote the utilisation of skilled professionals through research, grassroots community projects, skills competitions, and knowledge exchange.

While WSI organises its championships of vocational skills every two years, Ghana’s competition would be held in the alternating years of the global one.

Source: GNA

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