The participants on the high table
The Chief Executive Officer of Bartok 10 Tire Safety Service, Chief Basiru Karim Bukorba, has launched the first vulcanizing training institute in Accra.
Bukorba Vulcanizing Training Institute (BVTI) is affiliated with National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) and Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) formally called COTVET.
Opening the project, Chief Basiru Karim stated that the training institute has eight (8) vulcanizing garages in the Accra Metropolis, one in Tema, and one in Ashanti Region to give practical training to students.
He said they have ‘carefully crafted’ the programme for one year geared towards National Vocational Training Institute (N.V.T.I) Proficiency one and two certificates.
He added that each training phase would be done with both theoretical and practical aspects on Tyre Servicing, Braking System Servicing, Suspension System Maintenance, and Car Diagnosis Principles with intensive workshop demonstrations.
According to him, the training of 80% practical and 20% theory would equip trainees with the requisite knowledge for the job market.
He said the institute has been providing training for reputable companies and individuals in Ghana for the past five (5) years and have over the past ten (10) years, trained about 800 vulcanizers who are currently employed in tyre service centres across the country.
The advisor to the institute, Norbert Ayamga, stated that there are perceptions that TVET is meant for those who are not intelligent or smart but said that was very wrong, saying “It is not true that those who pursue their education or profession or trade in TVET are not smart or intelligent.”
He said TVET trainees use all their ‘psychomotor’ skills and knowledge to develop themselves better and come out more innovative in their chosen career.
“TVET funding is a challenge and many people cannot afford to go through the training to acquire the needed skills,” he noted.
Growing unemployment, he said, was due to a mismatch between demand and supply of skills, and called on the government to continue to subsidize TVET.
He called on philanthropists and NGOs to also help youth who are interested in the TVET training, and urged parents to encourage their children to participate in TVET training to reduce unemployment and its attendant social vices.
A representative from NVTI, George Oduro, stated that an important characteristic of TVET is the ability to provide practical skills for students.
“This means that TVET can respond, not only to the needs of different types of industries but also to the different training needs of learners from different socio-economic and academic backgrounds and prepare them for gainful employment and sustainable livelihoods,” he said.
BY Daniel Bampoe