A Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology-FAST, Dr Hajiah Adisah Sadik has appealed to government to invest in technical and vocational education. According to her, TVET plays an important role in dealing with unemployment situation in the country, hence the need for government to invest in the sector.
She made the appeal at the 13th Annual Students project work exhibition of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management-HTM at the campus of Tamale Technical University-TaTU.
The exhibition is an annual event that seeks to train students to be job seekers in the hospitality industry with skills in cooked food. It is also to empower students to add value to their products to create direct and indirect jobs. The theme for this years’ exhibition is,‘ ’Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana and See Ghana’’.
Hajia Adisah said FAST is one of the main Faculties of TaTU with the mission of providing career focused education training in science and Technology to fill the middle level manpower needs of the country and beyond. She said one of their objectives is to train students to compete in a challenging world of technological advancement.
‘’We are training our students to be job creators and not job seekers’’, she noted. The Head of Department-HTM Alhassan Fataw, giving the rationale behind the exhibition indicates the university places emphasis on providing students with hands on skills training for them to be self-employed after school, hence the reason for the initiative.
A Chairman of Hoteliers Association Alhassan Cosmos, who attended the program, advised that as students in the hospitality industry graduate from school it is important they learn to treat their customers with respect and always smile when attending to customer where ever they find themselves in the job market. He said they should also be confident, discipline, creative and time conscious as they move out of school to compete with others in the industry.
A Final year student of the HTM department of TaTU, Judith Araba Yankson said the exhibition creates a platform for graduating students to pursue their dreams after school.
The 13th Annual exhibition saw students display various food products. Some of the things displayed are; Baobab fruit ice cream, Baobab fruit drink, ebony fruit drink, rice cake, millet Biscuit, yam flour cake, tiger nut drink among others. Executives of the department were also presented certificates for their support and services offered in the training process of students. A Former Tutor of the university, Constance Alhassan was also awarded a citation for her contribution to the growth of the department.
An FDA official also asked that students register their products with the relevant authorities to make them sole ownership of the products.
By: Lilian D. Walter/zaanews.com/Ghana
