Abetifi Kyemase Technical Institute, previously Abetifi Vocational and Training Institute, has graduated 84 students who successfully completed all the requirements for the award of a National Vocational and Technical Institute (NVTI) certificate.
The institution was founded in 1980 and was formally commissioned in 1987 with two programmes but it currently has nine programmes, all targeted at equipping the youth with employable skills, testing them, and awarding certificates at various levels, including apprenticeship.
Mr Sampson Nii Agbeli Botwe, Principal of Abetifi Kyemase Technical Institute, said at the graduation ceremony that the 84 trainees successfully completed their training in eight different programmes of their choice, including 54 regular trainees and 30 Competency-Based Training (CBT) learners.
He said the regular students received three levels of qualifications: the Foundation Certificate, Certificate I and II, and Proficiency I and II, whereas CBT learners received National Proficiency 1.
Following the implementation of the Pre-Tertiary Education Act, 2020 (Act 1049), and the opening of the Ghana Technical and Vocational Education and Training (GTVET) Service in 2021, the school now runs nine upgraded programmes, up from two in 1980.
Wood Construction Technology, Building Construction Technology, Welding and Fabrication Technology, Hospitality and Catering Management, Plumbing and Gas Fitting Technology, Fashion Designing Technology, General Electrical Technology, Architectural Drafting, and Agricultural Mechanization Technology are among the programmes offered.
Prior to the launch of GTVET and the government’s efforts to expand access to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) by extending the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy to TVET schools, the institute admitted 422 new students for the 2022 academic year, with 270 males and 152 females.
The principal told the GNA that their immediate worry was the absence of water and electricity at the school’s new location and that the learning materials provided were not being utilised due to lack of electricity.
Mr Agbeli said the school’s classroom block, various workshops, and dormitories were insufficient currently and could result in fewer students being admitted in January 2023.
Mr. Scott Brantuo Kyereh, Deputy Eastern Regional Director of TVET, who spoke on behalf of the Director-General of the Ghana TVET Service, said in line with the government’s commitment to equipping the youth with technical and vocational skills, the Ghana TVET Service has taken delivery of state-of-the-art equipment worth 131 million dollars.
He said the former NVTI’s head office, ten regional testing offices, five informal apprenticeship offices, and 35 institutions throughout the country have been upgraded and retooled. The project also included two foundries for the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research.
The next phase of TVET institution retooling and revamping will comprise 40 more TVET institutions around the country, 16 regional offices, and three incubator foundries, the first of their kind in the West African sub-region. In the coming years, 10 post-secondary schools will be established around the country.
The National Technical and Vocational Education and Training Qualification Framework also allows TVET students to advance academically from National Proficiency Level 1 to the highest level, such as Doctor of Technology.
