Ghana has officially been welcomed into the WorldSkills family. A delegation of the Ministry of Education and COTVET joined the world skills competitions in Kazan, Russia, supported by the Ghana Skills Development Initiative (GSDI) and its stakeholders, the German Federal Government, the European Union, and the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Ghana was officially announced the 81st member of WorldSkills at the Opening Ceremony which took place on the 22nd of August, 2019.
In November 2018, Ghana’s first National Skills Competition had taken place in Accra with the support of GSDI. The winners of the National Skills Competition, in turn, represented Ghana in the World Skills Africa Competition in Kigali where they competed very successfully in their respective trade areas and skills categories (see http://www.ghanaskills.org/node/117). Subsequently, Ghana applied for membership of WorldSkills International and was granted an observer status in this year’s WorldSkills competitions in Kazan.
WorldSkills is the global hub for skills excellence and development. Through international cooperation and development between industry, government, organizations, and institutions, WorldSkills promotes the benefits of and the need for skilled professionals through grass-roots community projects, skill competitions, and knowledge exchange. WorldSkills shows how important skills education and training is for youth, industries and society by challenging young professionals around the world to become the best in their respective skills area. WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan, Russia, involved 1,354 competitors from 63 countries and regions who competed in 56 Skills.
GSDI III supported the observing participation of the Ghanaian delegation at the WorldSkills in terms of organisation and finance. The delegation comprised the Deputy Minister for (TVET) Education, Ms Gifty Twum-Ampofo, the Chairman of the Board of COTVET, the Executive Director of COTVET and other officials and technical experts. The members of the delegation participated in various seminars and conferences such as the Ministers’ meeting, the WorldSkills Africa meeting and the sponsorship and mentor’s forum. The delegation also had the opportunity to meet with the Chief Executive of the WorldSkills Germany, Mr Hubert Romer, who discussed with the team on the development of Skill competitions and a possible mentorship of Ghana by Germany.
The volume of knowledge, skills, experience and exposure gained by the delegation in Kazan lays a solid foundation to support future National and WorldSkills competitions for the promotion and enhancement of the image of TVET in Ghana. Additional information was gained regarding infrastructural requirements and the set-up for skills competitions, human resource requirements and their respective roles of personnel either as facilitators, planning committee members, technical experts, competitors or supporting staff for National and WorldSkills Competitions. Furthermore, visiting the WorldSkills competition offered the opportunity for networking with member countries and stakeholders in WorldSkills Competitions.
