TVET in Ghana: New goldmine of skills, jobs

For decades in Ghana, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was whispered about like a family top-secret: “if you don’t do well in exams, you’ll end up there.”

Today, that joke has flipped on its head. With plumbers driving SUVs, electricians earning in weeks what some graduates make in months, and global demand for artisans soaring, TVET has become less of a consolation prize and more of a jackpot.

Ghana’s TVET sector is undergoing one of its most ambitious transformations in history.

Currently, there are about 230 accredited institutions under the Ghana TVET Service, training tens of thousands of young Ghanaians annually in fields ranging from electrical engineering and welding to ICT and fashion design.

Youth unemployment remains a national headache. But here’s the twist: about 80 per cent of Ghana’s workforce is in the informal sector, mostly skills based.

That means the real jobs, the ones that actually put food on the table, are often those born of TVET.

At the centre of this reform is Dr Eric Kofi Adzroe, Director-General of the Ghana TVET Service. His job?

To turn policy into practice, classrooms into workshops, and students into globally competitive professionals.

Dr Adzroe has been clear about his mission: TVET is the engine for Ghana’s industrialisation and job creation.

The focus is to deliver demand-driven, competency-based training that equips young people not only for jobs, but for entrepreneurship.

Under his leadership, the TVET Service is modernising institutions with new labs and tools (no more 1970s-era sewing machines); linking schools with industry, ensuring students graduate with employable skills; promoting inclusivity, so young women and differently abled students aren’t left behind; and rebranding TVET, fighting stigma by showcasing success stories of graduates.

In short, he’s not just managing schools — he’s re-engineering a mindset.

Policy backing and big money

The Ghanaian government has placed TVET at the heart of its national strategy.

The World Bank’s $200 million Ghana Jobs and Skills Project, the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, and partnerships with Germany’s GIZ (The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and other donors are all reshaping training.

Chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, presenting the committee’s report, observed that the objective of the apprenticeship project, also known as Competency-Based Training (CBT) was to facilitate the socio-economic development of the country through an improved support for skills development and job creation across the country (GNA, July 2020).

These investments mean apprentices can now work with industry-grade equipment, learn digital skills and connect with companies before they even graduate.

Opportunities

Industrial Growth – With AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) headquartered in Accra, Ghana needs welders, fabricators and machine operators as much as it needs economists and lawyers; Global Demand – Skilled workers can tap into international job markets, especially in construction, ICT and renewable energy; Entrepreneurship – TVET graduates are not job seekers alone; many are job creators.

That fashion designer in Kumasi or auto-technician in Tamale is often an employer of five or more.

Challenges still standing

Perception: Some parents have realised the need to enrol their children into TVET institutions irrespective of their grades.

However, other parents still say, “If you don’t study hard, you’ll end up in TVET.” (Ironically, the plumber fixing their pipes probably charges more than their monthly salary).

Infrastructure gaps: Not all institutions are well-equipped yet. Industry linkages: Stronger partnerships are needed so training doesn’t lag behind industry needs.

Dr Adzroe acknowledges these hurdles but insists that the direction of travel is irreversible — towards a skilled Ghana that can compete globally.

Global lessons, local pride

Germany’s dual system (class + industry)  (duale Berufsausbildung) is a unique educational model that combines hands-on, practical training at a workplace with theoretical instruction at a vocational school; Singapore’s prestige-driven branding, and South Korea’s high-tech TVET revolution are models Ghana is learning from.

But Ghana has its own advantage — a youthful, energetic population eager to work. If given the right training, this workforce can power not only Ghana’s factories but Africa’s industrial renaissance.

A Ghanaian father once told his son: “If you don’t pass your exams, you’ll end up a carpenter.”

The boy replied: “Perfect! Because the carpenter who built our new wardrobe came here in a Toyota Hilux — and you’re still driving that old Opel.”

The humour hides a truth: hands-on skills pay.

Way forward

TVET is not just an alternative; it is a necessity. As Dr. Adzroe rightly maintains, Ghana’s industrial future depends not only on the number of university graduates but on the number of skilled hands that can build, repair, innovate and create.

So, the next time the lights go out, remember it won’t be the philosopher who restores them — it will be the electrician.

And if that electrician is a product of Ghana’s reformed TVET system, the nation is in very good hands.

James Attah Ansah is an educationist and author
Email: esem1ansah@gmail.com
Website: https://jaansahpublications.com

Charles Ekornunye Ansah is a Member of The Chartered Institute of Tax Law and Forensic Accountants-Ghana (CITLFAG), and a Head of Accounts at Ghana TVET Service.