The first batch of Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education Training (ATVET) leaners in oil palm have graduated from the University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (UCAES) at Bunso in the Eastern Region.
An agri-business entrepreneur and the General Manager of Sweet Life Group Ghana Limited, producers of miracle berry powder, Mr Eric Arthur, urged the graduates to utilise the skills gained to create their own jobs instead of depending on other companies.
He said Ghana’s agriculture sector provided a huge opportunity for agri-business entrepreneurs, which needed to be utilised for job creation and expansion of entrepreneurial opportunities.
Mr Arthur said that would help improve on agriculture, which is the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy.
The learners underwent ten weeks of competency-based training in oil palm under the Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education Training (ATVET) initiative of the Government of Ghana.
The training seeks to build the skills of the youth for employment and entrepreneurship in the oil palm sector.
The first of its kind in the country, the training is accredited by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training (COTVET), the national regulator, and would be in two batches.
The initial batch of learners, drawn from oil palm-growing 146 communities and oil palm enterprises in the Ashanti, Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Western, Western North, Oti and Volta regions of Ghana underwent both instruction time and internship.
The graduation ceremony will be replicated in the remaining four institutions.
A second batch of learners will be enrolled in April this year (2021).
Over five hundred learners from five educational institutions accredited by COTVET run the training programme to provide support in six modules including nursery establishment, land preparation and plantation establishment, harvesting, farm management, processing and quality assurance and agribusiness management.
Solidaridad developed the competency-based training in partnership with the Ghana Skill Development Initiative under the implementation of the second phase of its Sustainable West Africa Palm Oil Programme (SWAPP II).
The GSDI Project seeks to improve the quality of TVET in Ghana by enhancing the skills and qualifications of job-seeking youth, apprentices and workers as well as owners of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The competency-based training programme in oil palm is supporting the youth learners with funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Accra, the Swiss government through its State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ).
Mr Philip Stalder, the Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, commended Ghana for investing in Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).
He assured Ghana of his government’s readiness to partner the country to realise greater impact on competency-based training in oil palm, cashew and other agriculture sub-sectors as it had done in the past three years.
Mr Ron Strikker, the Dutch Ambassador to Ghana, reiterated the importance of TVET to the development of Ghana’s economy and said the Dutch Government would support it to a level that would yield more results.
He the Dutch Government had jointly supported the development of oil palm with the Swiss Government through the Sustainable West Africa Palm Oil programme, being implemented by Solidaridad, to support technical and vocational education.
The Acting Rector of UCAES, Dr Charles Brempong-Yeboah, said the University was committed to improving the knowledge and skills needed for development and improvement in the agricultural sector.
He called for support towards the installation of green houses for experiment and practical training.
The Chief of Bunso, Osabarima Abea Brakatu Ofori Aninkra, commended the Government and stakeholders for their support towards the programme.
He called for concerted efforts to clamp down illegal mining to ensure that enough arable land space was created to attract the Ghanaian youth into agriculture.
