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The Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has stated that government is paying greater attention to vocational and technical education because government believes that is only way the country can achieve the rapid industrialization that is that Ghana is yearning for.

Vice President kwesi Amissah- Arthur made the statement on Tuesday when he inaugurated the British Council Skills hub and Innovation Centre, a private sector policy dialogue at the British Council hall in Accra.

In line with this, he said government would continue to pump massive resources in to equipping vocational and technical institutions in the country. And to facilitate a general increase in the skills profile of the population , through accredited high quality education and training .It is for this reason , he said government is upgrading Polytechnics to become Technical Universities to make graduates more competitive and increase technical and vocational skilled youth to meet industry demand especially within agriculture and the oil industry.

Mr Amissah Arthur called to country’s youth to disabuse their mind that courses like carpentry masonry, barbering other technical course are only not good and lucrative. He therefore called for the urgent need for Ghanaians to change the negative perception associated with vocational education in the country, since skills development is a major catalyst for growth.

Mr. Amissah-Arthur said the ultimate goal of any skills development exercise is to ensure socio – economic mobility and better employment opportunities for the trainees .He said as a country our success can be measured in terms of trainee’s ability to move from the informal sector to the formal sector and /or an increase in remuneration.

This he said requires we formally recognize and certify the skills that have been acquired through informal and non – formal or experimental training in the various vocation trades or craft, what is popularly referred to as apprenticeship.

The Vice President further stated that apart from the formal sector large number of workers in the informal sector have acquired skills through experience or other non- formal learning channels who are not able to derive proper market value for their services .Therefore , irrespective of source of learning , through formal or informal or on the job learning the quality assurance against objective bench marks would facilitate the recognition of the skills acquired.

He said the objective of skills development is to help achieve sustained growth and address the social challenges of poverty and inequality, such as investment in education, training and skills development which creates the capable work force that is the foundation for inclusive growth.

The Vice President further stated that the major challenge of skills development is to make the population employable and secure meaningful livelihood opportunities’ for the youth .Adding that skills development is a universally recognized as an enabler of for growth .Because people need a range of skills to enhance their contributions to a modern economy , employee capability becomes fundamental to success to both micro and macro units .

Mr. Amissah-Arthur said within some of the frame works and many initiatives have been developed by government include. NBSSI, COTVERT, GRATIS, LESDEP, SIF, GYEEDA, YEA,NYEP, MASLOC, YES and

EMPRETEC.

The British council has over the years demonstrated their commitment to the skills and entrepreneurial agenda for Ghana , seeking to address the unemployment issues that face the Ghanaian youth today by bringing the private sector in youth skills development and entrepreneurship .

The hub seeks to provide a training, business incubation and innovation center that understands and caters to the needs of the Ghanaian and global job market by providing long term transferable skills.

In conjunction with partners like Rockefeller Foundation they have already developed training courses to empower and give employable and entrepreneurial skills to over 5,000 young people to date ,and are looking forward for further partnership with local businesses to offer a bright future to thousand and more.

Some of the dignitaries who graced the Occasion were the Wife of the Vice President Her Excellency Matilda Amissah -Arthur, The British High commissioner to Ghana H E Jon Benjamin, and a host of esteemed dignitaries and head of businesses.