The Ghana Technical and Vocational Education and Training Service has signed a memorandum of understanding with the British Council Ghana to implement the Vet Toolbox Project in Agriculture dubbed “Agricultural Skills Enhancement Programme” aimed at empowering women in agriculture vocation in three northern regions of Ghana.
Speaking during a Signing Ceremony at the Nim Avenue Hotel in Tamale on 17th July 2023, Mr. David Prah mentioned that the documents signing is an important part of the delivery of the objectives of the VET Toolbox project, recognising the need for key organisations within the TVET space to partner together. The MoUs, which have an initial duration of two years, will help all parties to identify and effectively play their parts in enhancing the skills needed to increase agricultural productivity in Ghana.
The Signing Ceremony was held alongside a Validation Workshop, which aimed to validate Occupational Standards which have been developed in the areas of agronomy, farm enterprise management and tractor operation curricula. Curriculum development and the validation of the Occupational Standards, generated using the Competency Based Training approach, is an important step towards setting the parameters for learning and qualification in these areas in Ghana.
Mr. David Prah said the VET Toolbox is a partnership of leading European development agencies, including the British Council (UK), Enabel (Belgium), Expertise France (France), GIZ (Germany) and LuxDev (Luxembourg). The project is co-funded by the European Union and by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). He indicated that the VET Toolbox aims to support partner countries in the design of national Vocational Education and Training (VET) and employment strategies, and at strengthening their VET service delivery systems.
At the same event, Mr. Nii Dodoo Doodo the Country Director for British Council Ghana mentioned that the current VET Toolbox programme began in September 2020 and is focused on enhancing the delivery of demand-driven skills development and VET to cater for investment needs in 11 selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the British Council delivering the programme in Ghana and Malawi.
Mr. David Prah intimated that in Ghana, the Agricultural Skills Enhancement Programme is supporting skills development in the agriculture sector in the Northern, North-East and Savannah regions. The programme is piloting new approaches, building the capacity of relevant organisations and establishing engagement models to help ensure that Technical Institutes can equip trainees with the skills that agricultural employers need.
Mr. David Prah stated that the project aims to provide practical training in agronomy, farm enterprise management and tractor operation to 200 people and of this number, the aim is for 140 people to find decent jobs and for the remaining 60 people to receive support to go into entrepreneurship. Training in soft skills such as farm management, bookkeeping, records management, and selling skills will also be provided to the farmers.
