BCM Concept and Vocational Training Centre has held its maiden graduation ceremony, awarding certificates to 120 learners under its partnership with the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) and the Ghana TVET Voucher Project.
The ceremony took place at the Nouyoung Empire Hotel in Wa. Of the 120 graduates, 80 were apprentices and 40 were mastercraft persons who completed competency-based training programmes.
Chairman of the ceremony, Alhaji Baba Dawud, called on the graduates to take their work seriously, stressing the need for dedication and professionalism as they begin their careers in the garment and related trades.
Director of the centre, Ahmed Mankama, told the gathering that the institution began in 2021 as a private technical and vocational training centre and became the first TVET institution in the region accredited by CTVET to offer competency-based training in Proficiency I and II.
He recounted the centre’s early struggles, noting that it started with just two students in its advanced fashion programme. Numbers rose briefly to ten before many dropped out due to inability to pay fees, leaving only two. Staff salaries were a major challenge until some teachers volunteered their services while the centre covered the rest on meagre pay.
Since its establishment, BCM has trained 80 mastercraft persons through professional skills upscaling programmes and provided free skills training to 20 unemployed young girls, supporting them to start their own garment-making businesses.
Mankama emphasised that the Proficiency One certificate opens pathways to Proficiency Two, National Certificate One and Two under CTVET’s National Qualifications Framework, and ultimately to higher education up to PhD level.
“For too long, technical and vocational education was treated as a second choice, a path for those who had ‘failed’ somewhere else. Government has set out to change that, and BCM is proud to be a partner in that effort,” he said.
He outlined three contributions of the centre: offering competency-based training judged by practical skills, operating within the national TVET system with clear progression routes, and opening access to school leavers, working people, mastercraft persons, associations and vulnerable young people.
Mankama highlighted the wider value of TVET, stating that it creates jobs, promotes self-employment and supplies industry with skilled workers. He urged parents to recognise that a TVET certificate is not lesser but a different route to dignity, income and independence.
Looking ahead, the centre plans to seek accreditation for new programmes in Plumbing and Gas Fitting Technology and Cosmetology (including hairdressing, nail enhancement, facials and body massage) to meet regional needs and expand opportunities for young people.
He advised the graduates to be disciplined, manage time well, respect customers, deliver quality work, start small while dreaming big, and never stop learning. “You are creators, not job seekers,” he told them.
The director expressed gratitude to facilitators, staff, partner associations, organisers, traditional authorities, religious leaders and invited guests for their support.
The event was attended by officials including the Regional and Municipal Directors of Ghana TVET Service, principals of local vocational institutions, leaders of the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association and Ghana Garment Makers Association, representatives of the Wa Naa and the Regional Chief Imam, parents, guardians and the graduands.
By : Adil Fuseini
