Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Chairman of the African Business Center for Developing Education (ABCDE), has reiterated the importance of vocational and technical education in Ghana’s economic transformation.
He emphasized that Ghana’s industrialization journey must be anchored on quality education and vocational training, equipping young people especially women with the skills necessary to drive economic growth.
Dr. Spio-Garbrah made these remarks at an International Women’s Day forum in Accra, themed: “Accelerating Action: Building Momentum for the Affirmative Action Act in TVET.”
The event focused on the potential of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in bridging technical skills gaps and accelerating the implementation of the Affirmative Action Act.
“If Ghana can master and control its capacity to develop men and women who understand and can practice the various disciplines in vocational and technical education, that is when I think our country will rise very fast and achieve all the benchmarks we are looking forward to,” he said.
He cited the success of countries like Korea, Japan, China, and some European nations, where a strong focus on vocational and technical education had significantly contributed to rapid economic growth.
The chairman noted that China, for instance, had strategically emphasized engineering sciences, producing nearly a million engineers under a national development initiative.
“They discovered that the key to their success and growth had to be the study of engineering and technical vocational education,” he stated, urging Ghana to adopt a similar approach to accelerate industrialization.
Dr Irene Agyenim-Boateng, Vice-Chair of the Public Services Commission, also highlighted TVET’s potential to bridge Ghana’s skills gap and its critical role in implementing the Affirmative Action Act.
She stressed that technical skills were essential for industrialization and economic development but acknowledged the persistent gender disparity in technical fields.
Dr. Agyenim-Boateng called for the effective implementation of the Affirmative Action Act to ensure women were not discriminated against in education, leadership, or the workplace.
She urged stakeholders, including policymakers, to take deliberate steps to ensure the Act’s provisions were fully enforced rather than remaining theoretical commitments.
“We need to emphasize that we are not caught in the excitement of the coming-into-being of the Act, but rather discuss ways to accelerate its provisions to secure the future of women in Ghana,” she stated.
She further noted that building momentum for affirmative action must be anchored on effective communication.
Dr. Eric Kofi Adzroe, Acting Director-General of the Ghana TVET Service, said the Service was implementing strategies to ensure both boys and girls had equal opportunities in technical and vocational education.
He highlighted the increasing demand for technical education, revealing that over 56,000 applications had been received this year—demonstrating growing awareness of its importance.
