Government sets up skills development fund

Published in the Daily Graphic on 8/04/2010, back page

A Skills Development Fund (SDF) has been set up by the government to support private and public technical and vocational institutes.
The fund, with a seed money of $40 million, will become operational in July, 2010 and is one of the mechanisms by the government to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system.
The Executive Director of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Mr Dan Baffour-Awuah, who made this known to the Daily Graphic, said the establishment of the fund was driven by the need to enhance the skills development programmes of the beneficiary institutes and make them more competitive.
"It is expected that the fund will primarily provide funding for the improvement of quality and relevance of existing skills systems and, if relevant, expansion of these," he stated.
He said the policy of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system was designed to reduce poverty and foster competitiveness.
“A responsive TVET system is essential for Ghana to realise its goals to become a more productive and competitive middle-income country,” he stated.
Mr Baffour-Awuah said the fund would give priority to innovative new approaches to skills development and employment creation, especially in micro and small enterprises.
He said the supported training institutions would be encouraged to adjust their programmes to an emerging National Qualifications Framework (NQF) as a precondition for support.
He said the Danish government, the World Bank and the African Development Bank had indicated their willingness to support the programme.