Deputy Minister for Environment Science Technology and Innovations, Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, has called on the Ghana Electronic Servicing Technicians Association (GESTA) to increase the participation of female Electronic Technicians in the Competency Based Training Programme (CBT).
She made the call at the first graduation ceremony of Master Craft Persons in Electronics, who were trained under an initiative of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), dubbed CBT.
The initiative, sponsored by the German and Ghana Governments saw the graduation of 90 leaners after six months of intensive training in Proficiency one (P1) course in electronics. Four Institutions namely; Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), Accra Technical Training Centre (ATTC) and Tema Technical Institute trained the graduands.
Aside from Electronics, the graduands were taken through generic courses like English, Mathematics, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and Entrepreneurship.
Addressing the gathering at a ceremony held at GAEC, Accra, Hon. Patricia Appiagyei advised the graduands to put the skills acquired to good use for their economic empowerment.
She advised that females should be included in this great opportunity of competency training for the informal sector.
The Executive Director of COTVET, Mr. Fred Kyei Asamoah, who delivered the keynote address on behalf of the Deputy Minister of Education, in charge of Technical and Vocational Education (TVET), Hon. Gifty Twum Ampofo, noted that the TVET programme is one of President Akuffo Addo’s means to improve Ghana’s informal sector.
He added that the President is keen on making Ghana the Centre of Excellence for TVET programmes. “This requires the standardization of most of the training done at the informal sector to meet industry demands”, he added. He commended GESTA for the efforts put in to make the programme successful.
Mr. Kyei Asamoah who doubled as the chairman for the occasion revealed that COTVET is working with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Private Enterprises Foundation, various government Ministries and Departments, development partners and other relevant bodies to set up a permanent body to generate standards for the CBT.
“The five year strategic plan approved by cabinet in 2017, focuses on areas such as Agriculture, Industry, Tourism and Hospitality, Strategic Manufacturing, Electricity, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)”, he added.
The President for GESTA, Mr. Andrew Gyan, expressed gratitude to the German and Ghana governments for sponsoring the training programme through COTVET.
He said that the association’s vision is to ensure that modern technicians are offering quality service delivery. He expressed joy at some of their finished products including amplifiers, power inverters, automatic traffic lights, among others.
He encouraged other electronic technicians across the country to register with GESTA in order to tap into the vast opportunities available to members. “The competencies that we have acquired are what we will use to develop this country Ghana”, he concluded.
By: Thykingdom Kudesey, Office of Corporate and Public Affairs (OCPA) – GAEC
