The Government of Ghana has received a financing facility of EUR 10 million from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany towards the funding of a voucher system that promotes access by apprentices, master craftspersons and entrepreneurs from small and micro enterprises to technical and vocational institutions further training in line with labour market and private industry demand. The project, which commences in January 2013 will be implemented by the Project Support Unit of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training (COTVET) in partnership with trade associations in the formal and informal small and medium scale enterprises sector.

The lack of adequate and relevant skills has been identified as a major impediment to the growth and competitiveness of the sector. Under the voucher system, targeted small and medium scale enterprises apply and receive vouchers which enables them have access to competency based training courses offered by public and private training institutes accredited by COTVET. The initial piloting phase of the project covers a 3-year period and shall take place in the Greater Accra, Volta and Northern regions of Ghana, targeting the following sectors; building and construction, automotive repairs, consumer electronics, garment/tailoring/dress making, beauty and cosmetics. The project will administer and finance 25,000 training vouchers for managers and employees of small and medium scale enterprises while providing institutional support (equipment and infrastructural) to training institutes across the country that shall be involved in administering training under the voucher system.

Ghana TVET Voucher Project

Project Informational

INTRODUCTION: The Ghana TVET Voucher Project (GTVP) is funded by the German-Ghanaian Financial Cooperation through the KfW and implemented by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) through PLANCO, an international consulting firm. The project is an initiative of the Government of Ghana aimed at increasing access of master craft persons, workers and their apprentices to training vouchers for further training leading to skills development and productivity improvement.

Quick Links:

COTVET Skills Competition 

COTVET Qualification Framework

COTVET Graduate Skills 

COTVET National Apprenticeship Programme 

COTVET Certificates

WHAT DOES GTVP AIM TO ACHIEVE?

• Improve the access of 8,000 apprentices, master craft persons and workers from informal and formally registered micro and small enterprises to technical and vocational education.
• Institutionally strengthening TVET stakeholders such as training institutes, trade associations and COTVET.
• Establish a consistent incentive system for vocational training providers taking into consideration the labour market relevance of such training.

WHAT IS THE GTVP APPROACH? GTVP will provide demand driven training vouchers to 8,000 COTVET registered master craft persons, apprentices and workers. The vouchers will be used to access skills upgrading training programmes in selected COTVET accredited Training Institutes.

WHAT KINDS OF TRAINING DOES GTVP SUPPORT?

1. Full proficiency training (Proficiency 1)
2. Full proficiency training (Proficiency 2)
3. Training in selected units within a proficiency

WHO ARE THE TARGETED BENEFICIARIES OF THE GTVP?

The primary targets of GTVP are COTVET registered master craft persons, their workers and apprentices in the following trade areas:

1. Beauty/Cosmetics (Cosmetology)
2. Consumer Electronics
3. Automotive repair
4. Building Construction (Welding)
5. Garment/tailoring/dressmaking

WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF A GTVP VOUCHER? Each training voucher covers the cost of institutional training, assessment and certification.

WHAT IS THE GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE OF THE GTVP? GTVP is currently being implemented in four regions, after which a future nationwide roll-over will be pursued based on the availability of funds. The current regions are:

1. Greater Accra
2. Volta Region
3. Northern Region
4. Ashanti Region

DO I HAVE TO PAY BACK? No! Support provided under GTVP is not required to be paid back. However, beneficiaries must contribute by taking care of their transport and feeding costs during the training.

HOW DOES GTVP MONITOR TRAINING? After voucher disbursements, GTVP in collaboration with the COTVET Quality Assurance and CBT team will undertake periodic visits to training centres to assess the quality and progress of training and assessment. This will ensure the training and assessments are competency based and in line with industry standards.

WHAT IS THE VOUCHER APPLICATION SCHEDULE FOR GTVP: GTVP Vouchers can be accessed anytime, subject to the availability of vouchers. The initial call for voucher applications will be published in the print media. However, all training must have been completed by September, 2022.

WHO QUALIFIES TO APPLY FOR GTVP TRAINING VOUCHERS? The following criteria must be met by master craft persons, their apprentices and workers to enable them apply for GTVP training vouchers:

1. Applicant must be operating within the focal trade areas mentioned in this brochure.
2. Master crafts person must be registered with COTVET
3. The master crafts person must belong to a COTVET registered Trade Association whose members have been trained in Competency Based Training methods
4. An apprentice or worker of a master crafts person can also apply with the consent of the master crafts person.
5. All applicants must have been educated to the Junior High School level
6. All apprentices must be at least 15 years old
7. All apprentices must have enrolled in their apprenticeship for at least two months.

WHAT ARE THE PROCESSES IN APPLYING FOR A GTVP VOUCHER? Applicants must go through the following steps:

1. Contact your Training Coordinator
2. Log on to the Voucher Management System online
3. Fill the Voucher Application Form
4. Attach the relevant documents requested-ID Card, Certificates
5. Submit Voucher Application to GTVP
6. GTVP reviews and approves/rejects application
7. Successful applicants receive vouchers in the form of SMS messages on their phones
8. Successful applicants submit voucher at the recommended Training Institute to commence first phase of training at the institutional level.
9. GTVP, COTVET Quality Assurance and CBT teams monitor training
10. Applicants continue with second phase of training at the workplace under the supervision of the master crafts person.
11. Assessments are conducted by the Awarding Bodies throughout the training
12. Successful trainees receive certificates of competencies in line with the National TVET Qualifications Framework