In an effort to empower young graduates from the technical universities, the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) of Tamale Technical University (TaTU) has organised an entrepreneurial practical programme for final-year students of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management.
The students were made to develop their own plans in event management, as well produce food and sell around the campus as part of their final practical.
Senior lecturer and Head of HTM, Alhassan Fatawu, in an interview with the B&FT said the programme is held for final-year students to assess their three-year stay on campus, and also to empower them.
“A lot of the students after graduating from the tertiary institutions look to government for high-paying jobs that do not exist. They think that acquiring the high certificate means one is above menial jobs, as in selling food by the roadside that mostly pays more than the monthly-paid jobs,” he added.
According to Dr. Fatawu, over 900 students for the past four years since inception of the programme have been trained on entrepreneurship – from which many have established their own business after graduating from the school.
He stressed that the technical universities are committed in training the young ones for a better future, but the big challenge is lack of logistics, funds and facility centres to help effectively discharge duties in grooming them.
