With a festive event at the Accra International Conference Centre, the nation-wide MyTVET Campaign was officially launched by Hon. Gifty Twum Ampofo, Deputy Minister of TVET (MoE).

The nationwide MyTVET campaign is being executed by the COTVET in order to highlight the importance of the TVET sector in Ghana and to increase enrollment in Technical and Vocational Institutions. The campaign is being supported by the Ghana Skills Development Initiative (GSDI), a project implemented by the GIZ and co-financed by the Republic of Germany, the European Union and Switzerland.

In a vivid panel discussion moderated by the Board Chairman of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), Mr. Francis Ansuah Kyerematen, representatives of the Embassy of Switzerland and the German Embassy as well as the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), addressed the nearly 900 guests.

Hans-Helge Sander, Chargée d’affaires of the German Embassy stated that the MyTVET campaign will spread the message that TVET is attractive because modern apprenticeship in Ghana include schooling in well-equipped training providers and a parallel skills training in the private sector.

Daniel Lauchenauer, Deputy Head of Cooperation in the Embassy of Switzerland to Ghana, noted that the campaign will advance a professional and attractive image of trained workers to the Ghanaian people as well as to the Ghanaian private sector. "Close to 70% of school graduates in Switzerland start practical training. The key success factor of the Swiss TVET system is private sector involvement, private sector involvement and private sector involvement", he explained. In order to create relevant skills especially among the growing young population in Ghana and for the growing Ghanaian economy, the TVET system has to be strongly anchored and promoted within Ghana’s private sector. In full agreement, Nana Osei Bonsu, Chief Executive Officer of PEF, complemented that the industries of the private sector have to be closely involved in the TVET sector’s training.

For further information:

Ghana Skills Development Initiative

Switzerland’s economic development cooperation with Ghana

At the presentation, Mr. Stalder recounted the long standing relationship Switzerland and Ghana have had, stemming from the period of the Basel Missionaries to present times. Highlights of this relationship have been the August 2010 official visit to Switzerland of President John Evans Attah Mills. President of the Swiss Confederation Mme. Doris Leuthard also paid an official visit to Ghana in July 2017.

Mr. Stalder stressed his committment to go the extra mile to see the Ghana-Switzerland relationship go to new levels.

For her part, Mme. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway underscored the need for the two countries to explore more innovative ways to broaden the scope of the trade portfolio to include other non-traditional exports from Ghana. 

This, she said was because gold and cocoa alone constituted over  95 per cent  of Ghana’s exports to Switzerland  although Ghana was currently Switzerland’s largest trading partner in Sub-Sahara Africa with trade volume of approximately $2.0 billion. 

She thanked the Swiss for the assistance provided Ghana over the years including $2.6 million Remittance Grant Facility (RGF) signed in 2017 to reduce the cost of remitting money to Ghana from 12 per cent of every $200 to five per cent. 

 “It is anticipated that high patronage of the formal process should with time raise the remittance figures and shore up Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves while cushioning the local currency, the Cedi,” Ms Botchwey stated.

The minister underscored the importance of the new strategic partnership between the two countries whereby an amount of 75.0 million Swiss Franc was to be made available to Ghana for sector-specific projects.