Prospects and Challenges in the Implementation of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Policy in Ghana

Abstract

This study explored the prospects and challenges in the implementation of the TVET policy in Ghana, with a focus on the roles and interactions of implementing agencies and key stakeholders, analyzing how these actors carry out their mandates, the operational constraints they encounter, and the emerging opportunities for strengthening policy execution and outcomes. The research further explored the potential of TVET as a pathway for Ghana’s socioeconomic advancement. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has increasingly been recognized as a driver of human resource development and industrial transformation. In recent years, countries have introduced major reforms to strengthen the TVET sector to align it with national development priorities and Ghana is not an exception. Guided by the interpretivist research paradigm, the study adopted a qualitative research approach and employed a purposive sampling technique, drawing data from nineteen participants. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview guide and was analyzed thematically to identify emerging patterns and meanings. The findings revealed that while implementing agencies have made progress in areas such as standard setting, training, curriculum implementation and delivery, quality assurance, and stakeholder coordination remains a challenge. Sustained effectiveness across implementation is hindered by limited administrative capacity, inadequate funding, infrastructural deficits, and weak monitoring mechanisms. The institutional restructuring following the merger of multiple TVET bodies also generated transitional tensions that affected coordination and efficiency. Nonetheless, the study identified opportunities for improvement, which includes the establishment of a dedicated national TVET fund, strengthening autonomy to implementing agencies, upgrading and expanding infrastructure to meet technological advancements, and strengthening collaboration with the informal sector. The study concludes that given recent reforms, TVET holds significant prospects for Ghana in youth employment creation, skills development and industrialization, however, the realization of the full potential depends on strengthening capacity, consistency, and commitment of implementing agencies and fostering continuous stakeholder engagement for collective ownership of the policy to sustain effective implementation.