The 2023 edition of the WorldSkills Ghana Zonal competition has been launched at a special ceremony in Accra.
This year’s event has been divided into two zones. The Southern Zone commences from 26th June to 29th June while that of the Northern Zone will take place between 3rd and 6th July 2023.
A total of 368 competitors from across the country are participating in the event out of which 110 would be in the Northern Zone. The remaining 268 will compete in the Southern Zone.
The Director General of the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, who announced this at the launching on Monday stated that the participants aged between 15 and 23 years will have the opportunity to exhibit their skills and talents during the competition.
He mentioned that Accra Technical University, Accra Technical Training Centre, Prestige Institute Professionals, and the Applied Technology Institute would be competition centers for the Southern Zone while the Kumasi Technical University, Uni-jay Company Ltd, and the Kumasi Technical Institute would host the Northern Zones.
Dr Asamoah hinted that after the Zonal competitions, the winners would have the opportunity of being part of the national event slated for October this year after which a team would be prepared to participate in the WorldSkills Competition scheduled to take place next year in Lyon, France.
Trade areas
He stated that the trade areas for the competition are bricklaying, fashion technology, autobody repairs, cooking, carpentry and joinery, hairdressing, welding, automobile technology, beauty therapy, graphic design, Information Technology, Software solutions for businesses, mechatronics, mechanical engineering CAD and electrical installation.
The Director General said this year’s competition is being supported by the European Union Ghana Pact for Skills: support to the transformation of the TVET system being implemented by the GIZ, World Universities Service of Ghana, under the Invest Project, Uni-Jay Company Ltd, and Prestige Institute Professionals.
Dr Asamoah appealed to all stakeholders especially the media and corporate Ghana to support the competition which is aimed at transforming technical and vocational education and training in the country.
“The role of corporate Ghana in achieving the aims and objectives of the CTVET cannot be emphasized. Whatever we do is geared towards providing the skilled manpower required to work for the various sectors and industries,” he said.
Relevance of the competition
The Director General stated that the introduction of the Skills competition is paramount because it has the potential to accelerate any country’s drive towards development, as it encourages creativity, competitiveness, and innovation and more importantly boosts the image of a country on the international stage.
He recounted how the skills competition introduced by the CTVET as part of the MY TVET campaign is aimed at revitalizing technical and vocational education and training skills competition among TVET institutions across the country.
Dr Asamoah said Ghana has applied to host the next edition of the African Skills competition and is upbeat that it would be granted the opportunity to do so to boost the TVET development in the country.
The Director General is happy that the number of competitors for the Skills competition, which is 78 last year has shot up to 368 representing a more 300 percent increase indicating the interest people have in the completion due to the benefit they could derive from it.
Commendation
Dr Asamoah commended National Petroleum Authority and other stakeholders for their support towards the completion and the TVET sector.
He also lauded the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his interest in the TVET sector leading to the massive transformation brought on board in the form of investment in infrastructure, equipment and personnel to enhance effective teaching and learning.
Background
Ghana is the 81st member and the first West African country to join World Skills International, a group of people and organizations that together advance the shared social objective of increasing the provision of skills.
With this, it joined other member counties in building the confidence of millions of young people and inspiring young competitors to turn their passions into professions.
