Mr Sebastian Deh, Executive Secretary of the Council for Vocational Education and Training (COVET), has called for incorporation of technical skills training into the national development plan.

He stated that Ghana could not make meaningful headway in economic development unless it made deliberate efforts to promote technical education.

Mr. Deh was addressing about 150 technical teachers, selected to pursue a Diploma in Education in Competency-Based Training and Research (CBT) programme, at the University of Education Winneba.

This was at a matriculation ceremony held for distance education students in the northern sector, in Kumasi.

The CBT is a pilot programme, sponsored by COVET with financial support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), to provide competency-based technical training to teachers in polytechnics and technical institutes to effectively connect what they are teaching in the classroom to industry.

Mr. Deh underlined the critical importance of technical education, saying it had been the catalyst for industrial and economic development across the world.

It was therefore important to carry out the necessary reforms in technical education and training to provide the youth with skills not only to become self-employed but to also support the manufacturing and industrial sectors of the economy.

He said COVET was working to ensure that the people became more creative and innovative.

He encouraged the pioneer students to see themselves as change agents - committed to expand knowledge, skills and innovation.

Professor Mawutor Avoke, Vice Chancellor of UEW, said the CBT programme had been designed for teachers in polytechnics and technical institutes to help address the manpower gap in competency-based training in these institutions.

He gave the assurance that the university would continue to expand its courses and programmes and open new study centres for distance education to enable more people to receive higher education in their localities.