Twelve students graduate from Ghana Labour College

Accra, Nov. 10, GNA - The Ghana Labour College on Friday awarded Certificates in Labour Studies (CLS) to 12 students who successfully went through three months intensive course from March to May 2012.   The graduands went through courses such as Industrial Relations, Economy of Ghana, Basics Statistics, Computing, Labour Economics, Language and Communications, Research Methods, Trade Union Management, Gender and Labour Relations, Basic Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis as well as Industrial Research.   The Trades Union Congress (TUC) in collaboration with the University of Cape Coast, organised the CLS programme aimed at helping union activists to build their capacity and understanding of global issues relating to labour and economics to be able to adapt to the dynamics in the world of work.   In his welcome address, the Acting Principal of Ghana Labour College, Mr Isaac K. Yanney, indicated that the CLS programme offered admission to 24 students this year, made up of 14 males and 10 females.   However, only 14 of them reported for the programme comprising eight males and six females.   He said this development did not augur well for the college and attributed it to discontinuation of support it used to get from SASK Finland, misconception that the programme is designed for union members and failure of employers to release interested employees for the programme.   Mr Yanney said since the inception of the programme in 2001, the college had trained a total of 246 students made up of 154 males and 92 females who are doing exceptionally well in their fields of endeavour.   He appealed to organizations and individuals to come to the aid of the college to uplift it status to cope and meet global standards.   Mr Joshua Ansah, Acting Secretary General of the TUC, acknowledged that the college was facing enormous challenges that impede its progress, and hinted that the college had already began restructuring effort to address the problems.   He said the courses are under review to ensure it met global standards and urged the graduands not to be daunted by those challenges since challenges manifested in all human endeavours for which they had received the requisite skills and knowledge to successfully surmount.   Mr Justice Anoff, Coordinator of CLS and Director of the Institute for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, suggested to the college to properly position graduates and the programme to include non-unionized members.   He hinted that the curriculum was under review to meet the needs of industry for them to benefit from the programme.   He urged employers to consider sponsoring permanent staff to pursue the programme since they stood to gain much from the knowledge and skills acquired for increased productivity and national development.   Mrs Martha Akorsah, Assistant Course Prefect, bemoaned the low student turnout this year and attributed it to lack of sponsorship and astronomical increase in fees which rose by 350% in 2012.   She appealed to the school authorities to consider reviewing the school fees downwards to attract more students.   The students made various presentations to lecturers and workers of the college as an appreciation for their support during their stay on campus.     GNA... Read Full Story