PPP to raise status of polytechnic graduates

Action would be expedited to elevate the status of the Higher National Diploma (HND), to enable them find their rightful place on the job market. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Progressive People�s Party (PPP) presidential candidate for Election 2012, who gave the assurance, said: �We know your value...and the PPP would ensure that you find your rightful place and gain reputation in this country and beyond�. He said these when he inaugurated the Progressive Youth Movement, the youth wing of the party, at the Accra Polytechnic on Wednesday. Dr Nduom said the party would fufil the promise if voted into power in December and added that it was time that the job market recognised the value of polytechnic graduates. He explained that the polytechnics have produced brilliant and talented people, now occupying distinguished positions, both locally and internationally. The PPP presidential candidate said he had employed many HND holders and they had proved their worth. Dr Nduom said the party would create jobs to guarantee the future of the youth of Ghana. He stressed that ��the PPP would ensure that in six years, everyone who graduates from the tertiary institution would find employment waiting for him or her, because there is no reason seeking education when there is no prospects of gaining job.�� Dr Nduom said the party would harness the country�s resources to establish industries to create employment for the youth, and appealed to young people across the country to vote massively for the PPP for a brighter future. The issue of job placement of polytechnic graduates has over the years become contentious, with HND holders demanding that their certificates be equated to a first degree. Most job evaluators place HND certificate holders a step or two lower than degree holders, limiting their progression in relation to that of university graduates.