Ho, Aug. 13, GNA - The Right Reverend Francis Lodonu, Catholic Bishop of Ho Diocese, on Tuesday said overcoming the unemployment and poverty scourge may elude the nation if vocational, technical and agricultural training and education are not developed. He was addressing the opening of a five-day strategic workshop for improving Catholic Vocational Training in Ghana under the theme: "Exploring Strategic Options for Self and Wage Employment Opportunities for the Youth".

Bishop Lodonu said skills and entrepreneurial gap existed because governments before and after independence failed to pay attention to policies on skills acquisition and entrepreneurial skills. "We are used to paying lip-service to policies.''

Bishop Lodonu appealed to the government to maximise the potential of the youth by re-directing its focus and funding to vocational and technical training and education, copying the sterling examples of Japan and Malaysia.

Dr George M. Afeti, Principal of the Ho-Polytechnic, called for competitiveness among skill providers to increase the market value, quality and relevance of vocational and technical training and education.

Miss Comfort Ntiamoah Mensah, Director of Vocational Training for Females Programme (VTF) of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, said only 30 per cent of junior secondary school students gained admission to senior secondary schools and out of the number only eight per cent gained admission into the universities.

Rt. Rev. Peter Appiah Turkson, President of Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference, said the Church's 60 vocational institutes throughout the country were characterised with inadequate infrastructure, dwindling enrolment due to lack of parental interest and sponsorship.

He said the institutes were the Church's contribution to solving the unemployment problem of the youth by equipping them to be self-employed. The workshop is being organised by the Department of Socio-Economic Development (SED) of the Catholic Secretariat in collaboration with the Catholic Diocese of Ho and sponsored by Misereor, a German non-governmental organisation. 13 Aug. 03