The Botswana Ministry of Higher Education has praised Ghana’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Service for its innovative and transformative approach to skills development. In response, a high-level delegation from Botswana, led by Minister Prince Maele and supported by education experts, is in Ghana for a week-long study tour to learn from the country’s exemplary TVET policies and institutional practices.
The visit focuses on Ghana’s success in aligning technical education with labour market needs through regulatory reform, institutional realignment, industry partnerships and a gender-inclusive curriculum. Botswana aims to draw on Ghana’s model to enhance its own TVET governance, curriculum relevance and youth employability prospects as part of a broader national development strategy.
Botswana’s delegation is also engaging with Ghanaian institutions to understand administrative structures, entrepreneurship integration, funding mechanisms and student outcomes. These insights are expected to inform ongoing reforms back home and strengthen Botswana’s drive toward economic diversification, job creation and inclusive growth.
At the Biriwa Technical Institute near Cape Coast, Minister Maele expressed admiration for Ghana’s progressive TVET approach, calling it a model for Africa. He stated that Botswana recognises the importance of TVET as a driver of sustainable development, embedded within its National Development Plans to produce a skilled, innovative and globally competitive workforce. He noted that such a workforce is key to addressing youth unemployment, poverty and inequality.
Maele also addressed the negative perceptions around TVET, stressing the need to reposition vocational education as a pathway to empowerment and economic opportunity. He described Africa’s youth as its greatest asset and called for stronger emphasis on practical skills that can boost both employability and entrepreneurship. Acknowledging Ghana’s leadership in this area, he encouraged reciprocal exchanges to promote mutual learning between the two nations.
TVET Service in Ghana’s Central Region, Deputy Director, Seth Botwey welcomed the visit and emphasised the importance of cross-country collaboration. He outlined how Ghana’s unified TVET system has improved quality standards, streamlined administration, and deepened academia-industry collaboration. According to him, the Service is committed to equipping Ghanaian youth with both technical and soft skills needed to thrive in a competitive job market and contribute meaningfully to national industrialisation.
At the same event, Principal of Biriwa Technical Institute, Samuel Kwashie Amegbor, applauded government efforts to continually reform TVET and attract more young people especially girls to technical programmes. He highlighted the Institute’s ongoing efforts to implement sustainable quality management systems and instill eco-consciousness among staff and students.
Established in 1974 to address unemployment in the fishing community of Biriwa, the Institute has trained over 9,000 youth. A recent tracer study revealed that 35 percent of its graduates had pursued further education, 39 percent were employed in public or private sectors, 19 percent had become self-employed and only 8 percent remained unemployed.
Currently, the Institute offers eleven programmes including Electrical Engineering, Motor Vehicle Engineering, Fashion Design, Welding and Fabrication, Hospitality and Catering, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Building and Construction, Computer Hardware Technology, Leather Works Technology and Wood Construction Technology. A pilot Oil and Gas Technology programme is also being developed and is expected to expand soon.
The visit reaffirms the commitment of both countries to deepen bilateral ties, foster educational exchange and position vocational training at the heart of their national development agendas.
