On Horseman story: The full document Dep Minister Ablakwa shared on Alhaji and Alhaji : The Skills Development Fund The story so far..... The Skills Development Fund (SDF) is part of the Ghana Skills and Technology Development Project and the Support to Private Sector Development Project (Phase 11). The Fund is a five-year multi donor funded intervention which was initiated by the Government of Ghana in 2011, to provide critical solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing the development of industry-skills and technology. With funding from the World Bank (US$50 Million) and DANIDA (US$10 Million), SDF is implemented by the Project Support Unit of COTVET and aimed at providing a demand driven response to challenges faced by the productive sectors of Ghana: (i) inadequate qualified labour force; (ii) the urgency of providing new entrants to the labour market with gainful, employable skills; and (iii) inadequate access to new technologies and innovations. SDF aims to improve demand-driven skills development and increase adoption of new technologies in selected economic sectors of Ghana by, among others, promoting demand-driven training and technology development opportunities and improved linkages between private sector employers and training and technology institutions through a competitive fund, targeting programs to provide skills and technology to selected industries. The Fund has since 2011 been supporting skills upgrading of employees for improvement in productivity and increased competiveness, upgrading skills of master craft persons and self-employed graduates, retraining workers displaced by economic and organizational restructuring and promoting partnerships between industry and technology providers to develop and transfer new and innovative technologies to industry. As at October 2014, SDF had approved grants totaling of GHC 87 Million to 510 small, medium and large scale businesses and Science, Technology and Innovations institutions nationwide. This amount is supposed to increase to over GHC 100 Million by the end of 2014. As a result of the SDF support, GoG can report that: 1. About 20,620 staff and master craft persons have undergone skills upgrading in innovative areas within their respective professions. 2. The skills upgrading has led to an increase in productivity by an average of 60% as at June 2014. 3. The increase in skills upgrading and productivity means increasing opportunities for business expansion and job creation. The following are some success stories of the SDF from some key priority sectors: Energy industry: 1,000 members of the Ghana Association of Electrical Contractors are currently been trained courtesy an SDF grant of GHC 660,000 to train and acquire skills in solar PV system installation and maintenance. The Ghana Technology University College is undertaking the customized training. This is how SDF has built the foundations to provide avenues for upgrading critical skills, especially in areas where there are no formal training opportunities in the Country. Leather works industry: SDFs support of GHC 73,778.00 to Horseman Shoes Ltd. by way of skills upgrading in leather designing, has enhanced the quality and output of a young entrepreneurs business. SDF has supported the company to collaborate with the department of leather works at the KNUST to transfer leather designing and shoe making skills to students interested in becoming leather entrepreneurs like Horseman. Aquaculture industry: SDF is currently supporting Flosell Ltd, a young entrepreneurs aquaculture business with a grant of GHC 486,000 to acquire and install a Re-circulating Aquaculture System to breed tilapia and catfish fingerlings for farmers in the Volta Region. This has capacity to churn out over a million fingerlings a month, thereby assuring farmers along the Volta of constant supply of fingerlings. SDF in 2013, also supported Ainoo Ansah Farms with a grant of GHC 145,516.35 to acquire innovative technology to expand its production capacity by installing and operating a Re-circulating Aquaculture System (RAS) for the hatchery of tilapia and other fresh water fish, train technical and management personnel of AFF in the operation and management of the new technology. The farm now produces over 600,000 fingerlings a month. Refrigeration and Air-condition industry: SDF has supported DUMS Air Condition Services Ltd with a grant of GHC 127,400 to train its staff in the installation and maintenance of Multi Vee and Multi Purpose Units, a new technology in the air-condition industry which is foreign to Ghanaian artisans in that sector. The company is now able to compete with foreign companies for jobs including a recent contract to maintain the Multi-Vee air-condition units at the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rice industry: SDF has supported the Ghana Rice & Inter-Professional Body (GRIB) with a grant of GHC 100,854.00 to train its member farmers in a new technology called System of Rice Intensification (SRI) technology, which is proven to increase output by 10 Metric Tonnes per hectare and suitable for small holder farmers. Today, our rice farmers can harvest up to 10 Metric Tonnes per acre of land cultivated, compared to the previous 2.4 Metric Tonnes that pertained before SDFs support. Pineapple industry: When the taste of the international market switched from smooth cayenne to MD2, Ghanaian pineapple growers were unable to cultivate that variety due to the nature of our soil. It required specialized skills mainly available in South America. Commercial farms were laying off staff, due to the dwindling market for the smooth cayenne and the lack of capacity to produce MD2 for export. SDF supported Gold Coast fruits Ltd with GHC 247,920 to enable the company engage a Costa Rican MD2 Consultant to train over 230 planters in the cultivation of the internationally accepted MD2 variety of pineapples. Today, the company is a leading exporter of MD2 moving from 20 Metric Tonnes per Hectare to 80 Metric Tonnes per Hectare. Mushroom industry: SDF has supported the Mushroom Growers and Exporters Association of Ghana with a grant of GHC 96,862.50 to upgrade the skills of its members in mushroom spawn production and cultivation, post-harvest handling, packaging and marketing. Members can now produce their own spawns without having to travel to Accra to purchase spawns. This has reduced their cost of production and increased their productivity. Poultry industry: SDFs support of over GHC 500,000 to the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers at the national and district levels to acquire skills in advanced poultry management and disease control have reduced mortality of birds from about 30% to 5% due to improved skills in poultry management and disease detection and control Automotive repairs: Courtesy SDF, up to 3,000 members of the Ghana National Association of Garages can now repair electronic and automatic cars, leading to improved incomes and livelihoods of the informal sector. SDF has awarded over GHC 2 Million worth of grants to the automotive sector. Consumer electronics repairs: Through SDFs support of GHC 900,000 to the Progressive Electronic Technicians Association of Ghana (PETAG), the organization has accessed skills upgrading for over 600 of its members nationwide to build their capacity in computer hardware, software, networking and related skills. Members can now repair LCD, LED and decoders, thereby making them more competitive. Precious metals: SDF has supported the KNUST Jewellery Design and Technology Centre with a grant of GHC 1,542,300.00 to acquire a technology to train the youth and other jewellery practitioners in the Ashanti Region and beyond in how to use Computer Aided Jewellery Design/Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology in jewellery production. The CAD/CAM technology enhances precision in designing and assures top notch quality finishing in minimal time. Compared to the previous outdated manual method of jewellery manufacturing which took up to two days to mould a common ring, the CAD/CAM does same in two hours. Due to enhancements in their capacity to train Ghanaian Jewellers in computerised jewellery production, the company has just signed a contract worth US$ 55. 6 Million for the production and supply of medals to the USA. Over 200 youth have so far graduated from the training in CAD/CAM at the Institute and are employing it in their businesses. Soap making industry: SDF supported the Cape Coast Cluster of Soap makers and Asuogyaman Soapmakers Associations with grants amounting to about GHC 65,000 to enable members acquire skills and technology relevant to the hardening of soap and application of fragrances to improve the quality of their soaps. The soap makers, made up mainly of women, have used SDF-financed technology to improve productivity - from 240 bars/week to 800 bars/ week. It now takes one hour for the soap to harden compared to three days prior to SDFs intervention
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 11:18:14 +0000
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