Technical and vocational education leaders have warned that Ghana’s skills training sector faces serious structural problems despite ambitious government plans for industrial transformation.
Dr. Ako Demetey, President of the Conference of Principals of Technical Institutions (COPTI), told a gathering of school heads in Accra that coordination failures between regulatory agencies threaten to undermine progress across the country’s 230 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
Speaking at the 2025 COPTI conference, Dr. Demetey identified three critical challenges: minimal regulatory engagement from the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), overlapping mandates between government agencies, and severe resource shortages affecting daily school operations.
The COPTI leader said principals feel disconnected from CTVET, the body established under Ghana’s Education Regulatory Bodies Act to oversee quality standards and policy coordination. He characterized the relationship as infrequent and insufficient, particularly given the sector’s expanded role in national development strategy.
Ghana operates two parallel agencies for technical education. CTVET regulates and sets standards including assessment and certification, while the Ghana TVET Service delivers training programs under the Pre-Tertiary Education Act enacted in 2020. Dr. Demetey argued these overlapping responsibilities create confusion over accountability and waste limited resources through duplication.
Recent survey findings from COPTI revealed that over 90 percent of institutions lack staff insurance coverage, while more than 70 percent provide no protection for students. Infrastructure gaps affect more than 150 schools, with many lacking functional workshops, modern equipment, or reliable electricity supply. Some institutions employ just three teachers alongside eight administrative personnel, raising questions about resource allocation priorities.
Ghana has developed extensive policy frameworks including apprenticeship guidelines, workplace learning protocols, and recognition systems for prior learning. However, fewer than 50 of 500 competency-based training curricula receive full implementation, according to conference participants. Many policies originated through foreign-funded projects that ended when external support concluded, leaving schools with incomplete systems.
The conference theme focused on “Quality TVET for All: Leveraging Digitalization and Sustainability for a Brighter Future”, highlighting gaps between aspirations and current realities. Dr. Demetey emphasized that digitalization, artificial intelligence capabilities, and renewable energy competencies will determine whether graduates find employment in evolving industries.
Political interference, inadequate logistics, and weak leadership training continue affecting technical school management, conference attendees noted. Principals called for merit-based appointment processes, continuous professional development opportunities, and stronger collaboration between educational institutions and private sector employers.
The COPTI president stopped short of assigning blame to specific officials or agencies. Instead, he proposed a minister-led reconciliation between the two director generals to clarify institutional roles definitively. He urged cooperation among policymakers, regulatory bodies, service delivery agencies, and school leadership teams.
Stakeholders concluded the conference by calling for TVET to be treated as a strategic investment rather than a peripheral educational option. They urged accelerated establishment of the proposed TVET Fund to ensure resources reach classrooms rather than remaining trapped in administrative processes.
Dr. Demetey’s message carried both urgency and restraint. He acknowledged the sector contains capable people and sound policy ideas, but warned that transformation depends on whether regulators actively partner with schools facing implementation challenges daily. Without structural realignment and consistent support, he suggested, Ghana’s industrial workforce development goals remain aspirational rather than achievable.
