Announcement of Job Training Project to Boost Ghana's Informal Sector on March 28, 1995

The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20433, USA IDA News Release No. 95/44 Contact: Merrell Tuck (202) 473-9516 JOB TRAINING PROJECT TO BOOST GHANA'S INFORMAL SECTOR WASHINGTON, March 28, 1995- Job training in Ghana will become more responsive and more oriented to the informal sector as a result of a $12.4 million project being supported by a credit of SDR6.6 million ($9.6 million) from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA), the Bank's concessionary lending affiliate.' Key beneficiaries of the competency-based, short term training will be people already working in the informal sector, either as low-skilled apprentices or as master craftsmen and women. Training will be provided in the areas of electrical installation, refrigeration and air conditioning, carpentry and joinery, dressmaking and tailoring, and blockmaking and concreting. Training will be carried out by at least 14 government and 26 privately-owned training institutions who are expected to conduct an average of three training cycles per year in each trade for approximately 5,000 apprentices and 1,000 masters. Over four years, an estimated 25,000 people will benefit from training. The project will focus on: * strengthening the capacity of the National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training to respond to the short-term training needs of those working in the informal sector; * involving local trade associations in designing competency-based training programs, in selecting participants for training, and in choosing the tools to be included in equipment kits; * creating closer links between trade associations, public and private training institutions, and the Government; and IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SDR amount reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of the negotiations of the credit. Archives/Records Center, H B1-OO1 1) * re-orienting the focus of private and public training institutions away from the provision of long pre-employment training to the provision of short post- employment competency-based training for those in the informal sector. The project has five components: 1. practical skill training of 20,400 informal sector apprentices in five skill areas; 2. practical skill training and entrepreneurship training of 4,500 informal sector master craftsmen and women in five skill areas; 3. ensuring that trainees have access to essential high-quality tools; 4. support to 40 public and private training institutions; and 5. training program development, evaluation, and monitoring. The IDA credit, to be disbursed over six years, will help finance the cost of training, institution-building and project management, and the compilation and monitoring of a labor force database. The IDA credit is to the Government of Ghana for 40 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has an annual charge of 0.75 percent on the disbursed balanced and a variable charge of up to 0.5 percent (currently zero percent) on the undisbursed balance. -0-