Navrongo: The Centre for Social Mobilisation and Sustainable Development (CENSODEV) has put forward a proposal to establish a multi-disciplinary Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Centre in Navrongo. The non-governmental organisation aims to equip vulnerable young individuals in Northern Ghana with necessary employable and entrepreneurial skills through this initiative.
According to Ghana News Agency, the proposed CENSODEV-Kaizen Multi-Disciplinary TVET Centre will focus on empowering young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The goal is to provide them with practical, competency-based skills to enhance their livelihoods, promote self-reliance, and contribute to socio-economic development. The Centre will target youth between the ages of 12 and 17 years, along with young adults aged 18 to 35 years, with special emphasis on women, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.
The initiative is a part of CENSODEV's broader strategy to strengthen community resilience through livelihood empowerment, capacity building, and employment creation across Northern Ghana. The Centre is set to initially serve five districts in the Upper East Region and plans to expand its services to the Northern, North East, Upper West, Savannah, and Bono Regions. This expansion will be facilitated through both on-site training and community outreach programmes.
Mr. Braimah Sanjage, the Executive Director of CENSODEV, shared that a key feature of the Centre is the integration of the Japanese Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement into TVET delivery. This approach aims to instill discipline, innovation, efficiency, and quality management practices among trainees while providing them with practical skills required by the industry and labor market.
The Centre plans to offer short, intensive, and competency-based training programmes in areas such as modern agriculture and agribusiness, agricultural mechanization, welding, electrical installation, solar technology, plumbing, bricklaying, woodwork, ICT, digital and financial literacy, as well as entrepreneurship and business development. The curriculum will emphasize agricultural skills to support the predominantly agrarian economy of Northern Ghana and encourage youth to establish sustainable businesses and create employment opportunities.
To ensure quality delivery, CENSODEV intends to collaborate with key institutions including the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly, the Ghana Education Service TVET Unit, the Rural Technology Facility, the University of Technology and Allied Sciences in Navrongo, the Navrongo Health Research Centre, local artisans, the business community, and traditional authorities. These partnerships are expected to support curriculum development, provide technical expertise, facilitate practical training opportunities, and enhance community mobilisation for youth enrolment.
The Centre will also leverage the expertise of experienced active and retired professionals from various technical fields, including agriculture, to mentor trainees and bridge the gap between classroom instruction and industry practice. Mr. Sanjage mentioned that the proposal is currently under consideration by the Japan Embassy's Grassroots Human Security Project (GGHSP), and officials have already conducted due diligence on the proposal, awaiting the outcome of the approval process.
Mr. Sanjage encouraged young people in the region to remain hopeful and prepare to seize the opportunities the Centre would present upon its establishment. He expressed optimism that the facility would become a centre of excellence for technical and vocational training in Northern Ghana, significantly contributing to reducing youth unemployment and poverty through skills development and entrepreneurship.