Vocational training and apprenticeship programmes have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a global survey of more than 1,350 providers of Technical Vocational Educational Training (TVET), many countries and training providers were insufficiently prepared to respond to the constraints that resulted from the crisis, although some rapidly shifted to distance learning.
A majority of survey respondents reported disruptions to training, in particular to work-based learning due to enterprise closures, as well as the cancellation of assessment and certification exams.
The survey covered TVET providers, policymakers and social partners in 126 countries. It was conducted between 5 April and 15 May 2020 by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank.
STU awards 389 graduates with BTech degrees 17th Dec 2020 | Source: GNA
The Sunyani Technical University (STU) at the weekend held its 13th congregation and awarded Bachelor of Technology degrees to 389 graduates.
They successfully underwent four-year programmes in Engineering, Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET), Applied Science and Technology, Applied Arts as well as Business and Management disciplines.
The graduates comprised 226 males and 163 females, with 65 of them obtaining first class, 253 second class upper, and 71 second class lower.
Speaking at the ceremony held in Sunyani, Professor Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, the Vice-Chancellor of the STU, emphasised the University was prepared to absorb more students and therefore urged qualified applicants, particularly from the free Senior High School programmes to apply, as the University re-opens in January 2021.