Over 45,000 students have enrolled in free Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) as a result of the program's implementation.
As a result of the policy, the number of TVET schools has increased from 47 to 200, with enhanced infrastructure and equipment.
In 2017, only 14, 000 students took the TVET test, but by 2021, that number had risen to 24, 000.
In addition, Dr. Bawumia presented the service with 37 buses, 21 double cabin trucks, two tractors, three Toyota Fortuners, and a Toyota V8 Land Cruiser.
Yesterday [June 7, 2022], the Vice-President spoke at the opening of the TVET Service Headquarters and Applied Technology Institute in East Legon, Accra.
Classroom blocks, ICT centers, administration blocks, workshops, male and female dormitories, and equipment are among the $131.6 million projects, making it one of the country's largest TVET centers.
The administration, according to Dr Bawumia, established the applied technology institution idea to provide rigorous academic core and industry-led programs to promote the country's socio-economic development.
He said the government inked a deal with Planet One Group, a construction company, to upgrade and modernize vocational schools, as well as establish a TVET Commission, as part of its efforts.
Dr. Bawumia said the government's decision to make TVET education free was paying off, and he urged people to embrace TVET as a means of job creation and entrepreneurship growth.
Initiatives
Within the last six years, the Vice-President said, "some of the interventions made in the TVET sector include the upgrading and modernisation of all erstwhile 34 National Vocational Training Institutes (NVTIs) and head offices, including 10 regional offices and five apprenticeship offices across the country."
He also mentioned the establishment of two new foundries and machining centers at the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Accra and another at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, as well as the construction and rehabilitation and equipping of laboratories, workshops, additional classrooms, hostels, and administrative blocks.
"We've also completed and rehabilitated 10 technical universities and 13 technical institutes, which included the construction of new workshops and laboratories, as well as the supply and installation of equipment suitable for electrical and electronics engineering, welding technology, automotive maintenance, and civil and mechanical engineering disciplines."
"There are also five new district TVET centres of excellence that are now being built," Dr Bawumia continued.
Opportunities for employment
Mawusi Nudekor Awity, Director-General of the Ghana TVET Service, said the training provided opportunity for young people to find work.
She expressed thanks to the government for making TVET alluring and the preferred option of education in the country, saying the programs had renewed hope and brought smiles to many households.
Mrs Awity went on to say that the service was working with donor agencies, foreign NGOs, and the government to create start-ups for TVET graduates.
She added that the goal was to develop a strategy that would help graduates launch their own enterprises.
The D-G went on to say that her organization was preparing to launch an e-learning platform for TVET studies, and that the young should take advantage of the service's programs and possibilities to become self-sufficient.