Mrs Gifty Twum-Ampofo, Deputy Minister for Education has announced that her ministry through the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) is working tirelessly to define and set standards needed for specific trade areas.

According to her, for government's industrialisation agenda to be achieved, there was the need for a strong human resource base of highly skilled workforce to improve innovation and productivity.

Mrs Twum-Ampofo made the observation at the launch of the 2021 National Skills Competition slated for 27th to 29th October, 2021 in Accra.

The 2021 National Skills Competition and TVET Expo is being organized by the WorldSkills Ghana Secretariat under CTVET.

The theme for this year's skills competition is "Reimagining TVET as a Tool for Ghana Beyond Aid".

The objectives of the National Skills Competition are to change the negative perceptions of the youth and the general public towards TVET and to raise awareness about opportunities that exist in skilled professions.

The competitors are be expected to compete in skills such as welding, brick laying, Carpentry, Auto body repair and Mechatronics.

The rest are Electrical Installation, Automobile technology, Mechanical Engineering CAD, IT software Solutions for Business and Graphic Design Technology.

Others are Cooking, Fashion Technology, Beauty therapy and Hairdressing.

Besides, the winners from this year's competition are expected to compete in the WorldSkills Africa Competition in Namibia and then the champions will compete in Shanghai at the WorldSkills International Competition scheduled for October 2022.

Mrs Twum-Ampofo also stated that TVET had a key role to play in fostering the resilience of young people.

She said it was crucial for stakeholders to ensure the continuity of skills development and training programmes to bridge the skills gaps.

"Today, the world has the largest youth cohort in history. Whether this translates into the largest development dividend or the largest development challenge in history will much depend on how this cohort of youth is educated and skilled for the changing world of work".

Mrs Twum-Ampofo also noted that skills competitions measure excellence, celebrate champions, with the aim of encouraging the youth to turn their passions into a profession.

She said skills competitions were the foundation of economic progress in most developed countries, which Ghana was hoping to replicate.

The skills competition which was introduced in 2018, saw competitors from the various technical institutions and technical universities across the country take part in the exercise.

Ghana subsequently joined WorldSkills International, the global movement for skills promotion in the world.

WorldSkills organises the world championships of technical and vocational skills, and is held every two years in different parts of the world.

The organisation, which also hosts conferences about TVET, describes itself as the global hub for skills. In addition, WorldSkills raise the profile and recognition of skilled people, and show how important skills are in achieving economic growth.