About 261 artisans in the Western Region have passed their National Vocational Training Institute Examination (NVTI) and graduated under the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Foundation’s Skilled Artisans Project.
The Skilled Artisans Project aims at training artisans and equipping them with various vocational skills to improve their livelihoods.
They were trained in fields such as plumbing, fashion, carpentry, auto-mechanics, general electrical and aluminum fabrication, among others.
Book-keeping, marketing and sales, branding, customer relations, attitude to work, safety at work and entrepreneurship were the course models used in training the artisans.
Also, the programme was implemented in collaboration with ASEDA Foundation based in Takoradi.
They were given a set of tools relevant to their skills to help set them up on their entrepreneurial journeys.
Dr. Dominic Eduah, Executive Director-GNPC Foundation, explained that the Foundation’s core mandate is to impact the lives of Ghanaians through social intervention programmes and community engagements.
“Our corporate social responsibility (CSR) models are designed to help communities and individuals through education and training, the provision of physical and social infrastructure, as well as economic intervention projects such as this; and aims at positively impacting the livelihoods of communities and young people,” he said.
He revealed that 400 artisans from the various fields were trained – but because of fear of taking examinations at the final stage, some opted out; leaving only 261 of the youth graduating.
He said parents should encourage their wards to take the examination rather than opting out due to fear of not passing.
The examination, he pointed out, is practical and covers whatever they know in their field of training, adding that: “The Foundation wants to see the numbers increasing in other regions as they go for the graduation”.
Abudul Mummin Issah, Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Chief Executive Officer urged the graduates to make good use of the start-up kits given them by setting up their various businesses.
Awulae Angamatu Agyan Omanhene of Gwira Traditional Area in the region, noted that vocational training is very important as it helps bring out individuals’ hidden skills and talents to promote nation building.
He commended GNPC and Aseda Foundations for the great work done in transforming the lives of less-privileged people in society for a better future.
