The Director-General of the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Zakaria Sulemana, has reiterated the urgent need for a comprehensive rollout of competency-based training across TVET institutions in Ghana.

His call came during an interview with Joy Business at the British Council Ghana Dissemination Event, held to showcase the successes of the International Skills Partnerships (ISP) initiative.

The high-level event, hosted at the British Council in Accra, brought together key stakeholders from education, industry, and government to reflect on the achievements of the ISP and map out strategies for scaling up collaborative skills development across Ghana.

“Competency-based training ensures that learners graduate with practical, job-ready skills that meet industry demands. It is time we made this the standard across all TVET institutions,” Mr. Sulemana emphasized.

Also speaking at the event was Dr. Eric Kofi Adzroe, Director General of the Ghana TVET Service, who made a passionate appeal to the business community to support the aspirations of young entrepreneurs.

“Our young innovators need not just skills, but also the resources and mentorship to succeed. We are calling on businesses to open their doors and support the next generation of job creators,” Dr. Adzroe said.

Richard Shiangbor, Director of Programmes and Partnerships at the British Council Ghana, highlighted the critical role partnerships have played in the success of the ISP and urged for deeper collaboration moving forward.

“We need more partnerships—between training institutions and industry, between government and private sector—so we can embed these successes into national strategies that endure,” Mr. Shiangbor stated.

The event concluded with a networking and sustainability planning session, where participants explored pathways to deepen existing collaborations, expand new ones, and integrate the outcomes of the ISP into long-term skills development frameworks.

The International Skills Partnerships initiative, led by the British Council in partnership with Ghanaian and UK institutions, has focused on equipping learners with relevant, demand-driven skills, while also fostering strong links between education providers and industry.

As Ghana continues to prioritize TVET as a cornerstone of its human capital development strategy, stakeholders at the event agreed that the successes of the ISP provide a strong foundation for national-scale transformation in the skills ecosystem.