Relying on the trained skills of your own hands to build your future: in this core spirit of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), about 70 participants competed during Ghana’s first National Skills Competition in skills categories such as Manufacturing and Engineering Technology, Information Communication Technology for IT Software Solution, Fashion and Graphic Design Technologies, Construction and Building Technologies, Transportation and Logistics, and Social / Personal Services. The event took place in Accra, 6th – 9th November, 2018 at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre and was organized by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) with the support of the Ghana Skills Development Initiative (GSDI) under the Programme for Sustainable Economic Development (PSED).
The event launched with a big opening ceremony in which GSDI and its stakeholders actively participated. Key speakers of COTVET and the Minister of Education Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh were sidelined by H.E. Christoph Retzlaff, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ghana, H.E. Diana Acconcia, the Ambassador of the European Union to Ghana, and H.E. Markus N.P. Dutly, Swiss Ambassador in Ghana, who all expressed their best wishes and encouragement to the crowd of contestants. Further guests of the event were delegates of trade associations, members of the international community, traditional leaders, training providers and other GSDI partners.
The participants of the National Skills Competition had previously successfully demonstrated their skills at the Zonal Skills Competition between 18th - 21st September, 2018. The winners of the National Skills Competition, in turn, represented Ghana in the World Skills Africa Competition in Kigali between 20th - 24th November where they competed in their respective trade areas and skills categories. Proudly, the Ghanaian contestants won gold in the Cooking category, silver in Hairdressing, silver in Electrical Wiring and bronze in Mechatronics on this international level. The zonal, national, and international skills competitions drew wide national media attention and benefitted the image and visibility of TVET in Ghana tremendously. GSDI had been supporting Ghana in all three competitions. Photos, videos and live streams of the event have been shared on the GSDI Facebook Site https://www.facebook.com/GhanaSkills/
