Modern boatbuilding can create jobs, boost Ghana’s maritime safety – Dr. Apaak

Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has identified modern composite boatbuilding as an opportunity to expand local manufacturing, strengthen maritime safety and create employment for young people in Ghana.

He said the country’s maritime sector had significant untapped potential but required a skilled workforce capable of building, maintaining and engineering modern vessels.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of a Training of Trainers programme in modern composite boatbuilding at ProZero Ghana Ltd. at the Sekondi Fishing Harbour in Takoradi, Dr. Apaak said the development of specialised technical skills was essential to unlocking opportunities in the sector.

“Ghana’s maritime sector holds enormous, untapped potential. Fisheries, marine transport, inland waterways and our coastal economies support millions of livelihoods and contribute meaningfully to national development,” he said.

“But none of that potential becomes reality without a workforce skilled enough to build, maintain and engineer modern vessels.”

Dr. Apaak said modern composite boatbuilding could support industrial growth, technology transfer, improved safety standards and greater local manufacturing capacity while opening up employment opportunities for young people.

He stressed the need for technical and vocational education to be closely linked to industry so that graduates could acquire skills relevant to available jobs.

“This Ministry welcomes any initiative that links technical education directly to industry, with a visible path from training into a job,” he said.

The Deputy Minister made the remarks while congratulating participants who completed the Training of Trainers (ToT) programme and earned certification as trainers in modern composite boatbuilding.

The programme was developed through collaboration among ProZero Ghana Ltd., the Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA), the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) and the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), with support from the Government of Denmark.

Instructors from technical institutions in Tema and Takoradi took part in the training, gaining practical and theoretical knowledge to prepare them to train other learners.

Dr. Apaak said training instructors was a strategic investment because their knowledge could be passed on to successive groups of students, helping to build a stronger pipeline of skilled workers.

He urged the newly certified trainers to maintain high standards of innovation and technical quality, noting that their teaching would influence the future of Ghana’s boatbuilding industry.

“You now carry the standard for innovation and technical quality in this field, and much of what Ghana’s boatbuilding industry becomes will reflect what you choose to pass on to your students,” he said.

Dr. Apaak also commended the Government of Denmark and the other partners for supporting the initiative, describing the collaboration as an example of international cooperation and public-private partnership.

He said the government intended to build on the first cohort by working with industry and development partners to train more instructors and extend the programme to additional institutions where demand and capacity justified expansion.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts to strengthen technical and vocational education and training by equipping learners with practical skills that respond to industry needs.