The Council of Technical Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), as the responsible national body in Ghana, is championing the Agriculture Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) project.
The Ghana National Medium-term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP II) has incorporated ATVET to ensure adequate attention at the national level with regard to embedding it in the CAADP structures and processes in the country.
A stocktaking exercise was successfully conducted. Based on the outcomes of this exercise, six ATVET institutions were selected for their potential in the areas of human capacity development and organisational development.
Following the training needs assessment, important skills required in the value chains of pineapple and citrus production were identified and incorporated into the new curricula. This was done in close cooperation with public and private stakeholders. Furthermore, new training material was developed with a particular focus on Competence Based Training (CBT). The material was introduced at four pilot institutions (three public and one private).
These training centres are being upgraded to accommodate quality management systems, highly trained and motivated staff, and the two demand-driven curricula on pineapple and citrus value chains. The intake of the selected training institutions has increased significantly.
Curricula are designed to equip trainees to venture into agriculture as a business and to encourage them to become involved in agricultural enterprises along the value chain. Therefore, all steps from production, processing and marketing are included. In order to align the curricula with the Ghana’s National Qualification Framework (NQF), these curricula will have to be recognised by COTVET. Ghana has established a TVET NQF by law, with the aim of obtaining accreditation for ATVET at the selected institutions.
Furthermore, the training of 570 farmers from 19 communities by Farmer Business Schools (FBS) has been supported, with a female participation rate of 30%.
Some 382 trainees, including farmers, have undergone training in the revised curricula of the two value chains, i.e. training of the trainers in postharvest handling and the internal verification of CBT.
