Introduction of “COOPERATIVE APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING CONCEPT” to Master Craftspersons (MCPs) and teachers in the Northern Region, Tamale
Part of GSDI's core mandate is to improve the employability rate of apprentices in the informal sector. To fulfill this requirement, GSDI organized two 2-day training programmes from the 19th-22nd August 2014, for the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association (GNTDA) Tamale branch. The programmes took place at Dabokpa Vocational Training Institute (DVTI) and Tamale Vocational Training Institute (TVTI) in involved Garment teachers. In all forty-four (44) people participated in the workshop, twenty two (22) participants in each school.
Holding the workshops at the Training Institutions provided a platform for MCPs to familiarize themselves to the schools. The MCPs will collaborate with the Training Institutes during the roll out of the Cooperate Apprenticeship Training Programme. Thus the MCPs had the opportunity to get to know and interact with the teachers that they will be working with.
The objectives of the workshop were to introduce participants to:
- GSDI project overview
- Competency Base Training (CBT) concept
- Occupational Standard (OS)
- Unit Specification (US)
- Workplace Guideline (WPG)
- Apprentice Log Book (ALB)
- Learning and facilitation material
Participants received detailed information on the various materials. In group work they gained hands on experience on the usage of the various documents. There was also a role play by participants to demonstrate how the materials will be used at their workplaces.
A resource person
, Mrs. Elizabeth Tandoh, a specialist in the Garment sector, took participants through demonstration and practical training that participants identify as a challenge. Participants were introduced to tools and equipment and their uses, floor finished and its effect on person and work, first aid procedure, fibre properties, converting metric measurement to imperial and vice versa as well as the use of makings on the needle plate. There was a demonstration on proper sitting position and posture during cutting or sewing, as well as demonstration on the use of industrial sewing machine.
At the end of the workshop, one of the participants said, “I have attended a lot of workshops, but this training has been training with a difference. The exposure and the skills have acquired cannot be quantified. THANK YOU TO GSDI”. The acting Northern Regional President of GNTDA, Madam Muniratu, also mentioned that GSDI training programme is always different and practically based.
