Local woodworkers are struggling to compete with imports
of furniture and other wood products into Ghana.
To survive the industry, Ghanaian wood processors
require the skill sets and equipment upgrade to produce standard products.
“If you are in the industry and you don’t develop your
skills, you’ll be weeded out, you’ll not fit into the system because as more
quality products are coming, you also need to sharpen your skills,” observed
Joseph Boakye, Director of the Forestry Commission Training Centre (FCTC).
The Centre has been contracted to train 1,200 members of
WAG across the country with a grant of Gh827,000 by SDF-COTVET.
“Individual association members have got their skills
upgrade, meaning that they’ll be able to improve their work, their income will
improve, productivity will increase and their livelihood will also improve,” said
Isaac Boateng, Deputy Grants Manager at SDF.
President of WAG, Reynolds Debrah, says through the
training members are positioning themselves for increased productivity and
competitiveness.
“Skills development and technical education is the
answer to the unemployment in the country,” he said. “With this training, we’ve
done knocked-down of packed furniture; we are able to do these things and you
can assemble them yourself”.
Mr. Debrah added that “we are producing glazing products
and our finishing too is upgraded, so gradually we’ll catch up with the outside
world”.
The SDF has presented training materials, including
computers and sets of screen projectors to support the continuous training of
the woodworkers at the Forestry Commission Training Centre (FCTC).
Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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