Career challenges in construction craft training in technical vocational education and training in Ghana

The study examined the challenges of the Pilot Training Centre (PTC) at the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) at Kokomlemle, a suburb of Accra in the training of tradesmen for the construction industry. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population consists of tutors, current students and past students of the PTC/NVTI and contractors within the Accra Metropolis. The sample comprised ten tutors, fifteen past students, one hundred and ten currents and ten contractors were randomly selected from the PTC and contractors. A set of questionnaire was prepared and used for collecting data for the study. The data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics from the Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS 16 version).For many years, technical and vocational education in Africa has been considered as a career path for the less academically endowed. This perception has been fuelled by the low academic requirements for admission into TVET programmes and the limited prospects for further education and professional development. Worse of all, the impression is sometimes created by governments that the primary objective of the vocational education track is to keep dropouts from the basic and senior high school system off the streets, rather than project this type of training as an effective strategy to train skilled workers for the employment market. However, 84.3% of the respondents refuted the assertion and only 15.7% supported the assertion. Based on these findings on the career challenges TVET trainees face, it was recommended that training institutions should be well resourced by the collective efforts of government and all other stakeholders so that training programmes can achieve their set objectives. Training providers should liaise with those in the industry so that in-service training activities could be organized which would enrich students with the right skills for the job market.  There should be a clear cut for technical students climbing the academic ladder without bottlenecks.    Key words: Technical Vocational Education and Training, career challenges, construction craft course, employability, negative perception.