The 2020 International Education exhibition has commenced with a call on stakeholders in education to prioritize skills training for youth employability.

Educata Ghana is a German-initiated forum that brings stakeholders in the education industry to dialogue as a means of making Ghanaian students better trained to drive industrialisation.

In an address before the sessions on Monday, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maxwell Opoku Prempeh, said: “We want to partner the Germans in capacity building and teaching so that we can get it right, and we can have skilled Ghanaians involved in the labour force.”

The Minister of Education said it was only the skilled Ghanaian “who could bring about industrialization and make our economy better for all Ghanaians.”

He assured the Germans that the government and people of Ghana “will continue to partner you. We know where to get to and where to get to is to follow those who are there; the Germans who are pace setters in technical and vocational training.”

Dr. Opoku Prempeh said government had invested in technical and vocational training and in new equipment to make it relevant to modern industry.

He also told of government‘s efforts in making education more accessible to allow every school-going child to benefit.

The GIZ Ghana Director, Ms. Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, informed that Educata Ghana would hold a forum to discuss the skills and capacity gaps in industry and the challenges in Ghana’s educational setup.

Ms. Barbosa informed that education played a key role in the lives of human beings and that education was the protection of every child.

If Ghana is to meet the skills requirements of the international community, there is the need for a shift in our system of education, she said, charging   all stakeholders to work hard to ensure that.

Ms. Barbosa explained that there was a gap between the needs of industry and the capacity to train people to meet the needs

She therefore called for the upgrading of the training institutions for them to produce students with the required skills for industry.

Ms. Barbosa also charged industry players to engage training institutions on their needs and provide opportunities for students to gain on the job training.

The country director informed that GIZ was ready to support Educata Ghana in several areas to ensure that stakeholders connected with the right people for job creation and entrepreneurship.

The Deputy Head of Mission, German Embassy in Accra, Mr. Helge Sander, said his outfit was happy to foster a good relationship between Ghana and Germany because of what Ghana stood for.

Mr Sander observed that Ghana was one of the most important partners to Germany, because Ghana had a stable democracy, and Germany could contribute to Ghana’s efforts to industrialise.

Among the many partners of the programmes is the Sparkassenstiftung fur International Kooperation, which, among other things, has been at the fore-front of Germany's effort to assist Ghanaian returnees and prospective Ghanaian travellers to acquire entrepreneurial skills and set up their own business in Ghana.