Prioritise youth employment in public policies – Titi Ofei

Israel Titi Ofei, the Director of the Design Technology Institute, a specialised TVET institution, said on Saturday that there is the need to prioritise youth employment in public policies.

He said that would enable the private sector to offer young people more and meaningful employment.

Mr Ofei, speaking at the Institute’s maiden graduation ceremony in Accra, said it would also lead to economic growth, the transformation of societies from poverty to shared prosperity, boost incomes and make citizens to thrive in their endeavours.

The Institute, a specialised TVET institution that provides practical and workplace-experience learning, saw 32 students graduating.

Their programmes were certified by COTVET and were designed to set the students apart from their peers.

Mr Ofei said by the year 2030, 24 million jobs would be created in the energy sector, including renewable production, energy-efficient buildings, and electric vehicles and the circular economy would see recycling, repairing, renting and reusing.

He said the nation must accelerate youth training in readiness for the emerging economy and to take advantage of the benefits of technological advancements.

"The onus is upon us to also provide them with social protection to facilitate their transition into new jobs," he added.

He said the MasterCard Foundation Ghana had been sensitive to those conditions and was working with the government in support of the Young Africa Works agenda.

He said following the directive from the President for all schools to be closed, Management rolled out online teaching and learning programmes to ensure the continuation of teaching with all programmes being completed successfully and on-time.

Dr Olubunmi Ajayi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Madison Pine, encouraged the graduands to make good use of the opportunities that existed in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

“Government’s policies and initiatives such as the automotive policy, one district one factory, and the industrialisation agenda are great avenues for you to make the Institute and Ghana proud,” she said.

She said the skills they had acquired did not end with graduation but must continue to seek knowledge, be innovate and creative to make meaningful contributions to nation-building.

Madam Constance Swaniker, CEO of the Institute, commended Management and students for their hard work, which saw the timely completion of their programmes in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said they had also invested in Information Technology infrastructure to facilitate effective virtual teaching and learning during and after the pandemic.

“We cannot make progress without a winning strategy that has skills development and training at the centre, driven by government, with support from the private sector,” she said.

She said in partnership with industry experts, the Institute’s programmes were designed to prepare the next generation of youth to bridge the skills gap in Ghana and West Africa.