Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has called on African leaders to end the long-standing perception that technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is a pathway reserved for students with weak academic abilities.
Speaking at the Africa Skills for Jobs Policy Academy in Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. Apaak stressed that TVET must be embraced as a first-choice option rather than a fallback for learners.
The Africa Skills for Jobs Policy Academy is being held in Nairobi, Kenya, from September 30 to October 3, 2025, bringing together policymakers, experts, and private sector representatives to foster collaborative learning and develop reforms for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The event, organized by the World Bank in partnership with the Government of Kenya and the Inter-University Council for East Africa, the academy aims to address youth unemployment by aligning training programs with labor market needs and promoting upskilling in key sectors.
“There is this tendency to believe that it is students who are less competent academically who are to take up technical, vocational education and training. So we have a concerted plan of action to change the mindset. And we are now saying that vocational and technical education cannot be a second option. It must be a first option,” he stated.
The Deputy Minister explained that the government was making deliberate efforts to expand access to technical institutions across the country to accommodate more students.
“Within that regard, we are scaling up the number of secondary schools, particularly in the area of technical institutions. Out of the about 900 second-cycle institutions we have in Ghana, less than 300 are technical and vocational institutions or schools. ,” he observed.
Dr. Apaak also highlighted the government’s efforts to support young people outside formal education through the introduction of the National Apprenticeship Program. The initiative, he noted, is designed to cater for the millions of Ghanaian youth who are neither in school nor enrolled in any training scheme.
“But here is an important factor. The government has also introduced what we call the National Apprenticeship Program. This is to give an opportunity to the about 1.5 million young people who are not in school and are not in any training, so that we can put them through competency-based training, to train them, certify them, so that we can deploy them,” he explained.
He underscored that changing perceptions about TVET and scaling up opportunities would not only address unemployment but also help Africa build a skilled workforce to drive development.
Since taking office in January, the Mahama administration has consistently highlighted technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as a cornerstone of its education reforms and broader development agenda.
Recognising the need to equip young people with employable skills, several new policies and funding commitments have been rolled out to reposition TVET as a central pillar of national progress.
The Ministry of Education continues to back a comprehensive skills development framework that earmarks significant investment into modernising technical institutions, upgrading equipment, and retraining instructors.
This aims to align training with emerging labour market demands, especially in technology, green energy, and industrial processing.
