Further development of TVET reform in Ghana

Ghana’s vocational education and training system has undergone far-reaching reforms over recent years. Whereas responsibility for TVET rested with a total of nineteen ministries up until 2020, it has formed a sole central remit for the Ministry of Education since this time. In its capacity as the central Ghanaian TVET authority, the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) is in charge of the governance, further development and monitoring of the country’s vocational education and training system.

Regular and systematic collection and evaluation of data are an important instrument and a key foundation for action that is in line with requirements. In 2023, the main focus of TVET cooperation with Ghana was formed by work on the second TVET Report, for which GOVET is providing technical support on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). GOVET assisted its Ghanaian partners once again across all preparation phases of the Report. This support encompassed the determination of topics to be covered, the formation of author teams, the creation of enquiry instruments, data collection, data analysis, and finally the preparation of the texts.

The publication, which first appeared in 2022, was assessed as being very valuable on the Ghanaian side and in the international VET community. This makes it even more worthwhile to invest in ongoing qualitative optimisation of the report. In October and November 2023, GOVET organised training courses on the administration, analysis and presentation of data (data management) with the aim of increasing the data assessment competencies of the CTVET team and thus achieve a qualitative improvement in the report.

The second report was ultimately presented to 30 VET stakeholders for validation and commentary in December 2023. The plan is for final publication of the report to take place in early 2024.

The second core topic in cooperation with Ghana is sustainability in vocational education and training. As a follow-up to a study trip relating to VET in water management at the end of 2022, GOVET organised an in-person workshop with its partners in Ghana in order to foster networking between partners at a local level and to identify synergies. Representatives from the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, from the Delegation of the German Industry and Commerce, from the GIZ, from CTVET and from the TVET Service all took part in the event alongside water experts from Ghana and GOVET.

Regular networking between stakeholders is crucial to success in international VET cooperation. GOVET presented the results of the bilateral cooperation as part of the event to mark the tenth anniversary of the Strategy of the Federal Government for vocational education and training cooperation from a single source.