The Hospitality and Tourism Centre of Excellence (HTCE) has begun training 720 people under Ghana government’s National Training and Retraining Programme.
Following the devastation wreaked on the industry, the government introduced the programme last year to enhance the skills of beneficiaries and ensure that the hospitality and tourism sector remains competitive and resilient in the years to come.
“The National Training and Retraining Programme is focused on skills upgrading, work ethics, productivity improvement and attitudinal change. It is also focused on boosting workers prospects for re-entry into the labour market at higher levels of productivity or performance,” said Enoch Obeng-Darko, Chairman of the Selection Committee for the Training and Retraining Programme while addressing beneficiaries at Kasoa on Monday, August 14th.
Hospitality and Tourism Centre of Excellence is one of the many training institutions selected to train approximately 8,000 people the entire programme is expected to cover. Others include universities such as the University of Cape Coast, Vocational and Technical Universities.
HTCE is taking beneficiaries who are mostly females through the making of various bread products, pastries, doughnut making, etc. in selected areas including, Kasoa, Prampram, Koforidua, Amenese at Suhum and Ho Municipality.
The lead facilitator of HTCE’s training, is President of the Chefs Association of Ghana, Isaac Sackey who expressed high hopes that the training would help beneficiaries acquire basic skills needed to empower them economically no matter where they find themselves. He appealed to the government to, in addition to the training, provide financial incentives for beneficiaries.
“I commend the government for this initiative, and I believe it will go a long way to support the participants and trainees especially in these difficult times. But I also urge the government to provide some sort of start-up capital for them to be able to pursue economic enterprises with what they have learnt,” he said.
Enoch Obeng-Darko implored all beneficiaries to seize this opportunity and actively participate in the various course modules that they have been selected to pursue.
“This programme has been meticulously designed to empower the beneficiaries with the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in your respective fields. It is not just another opportunity, it is a gateway to personal growth and we encourage all beneficiaries to make the most of it, “he added.
The training programme is under the auspices of the Ministries of Finance, Employment and Labour Relations, Organised Labour and the Ghana Employers Association.
