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Simon Osei-Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, has emphasized that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is not reserved for the academically weak, but designed to shape the future of young people.

He said parents must, therefore, desist from discouraging their wards who may have interest in pursuing TVET courses, saying that the notion that TVET was not for brilliant students was erroneous.

Speaking in an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, Mr Osei-Mensah indicated that TVET was designed to equip students with employable skills to make them relevant in the job market.

He said the Government had invested $1 billion dollars in TVET training infrastructure over the past four years.

The introduction of free TVET education by the Government, he noted, was to scale up efforts to build a solid workforce base in the country.

This, he said, would also empower the youth to be self-reliant and economically independent after training.

According to the Minister, this could also reduce the rate of unemployment in the country.

He mentioned that the Ghana Enterprise Agency had also presented start-up kits to 360 young people in Kumasi to enable them start their own businesses.

The beneficiaries, according to him, were young people who had been trained in various skills and were venturing into various entrepreneurship and businesses.

The Minister advised the youth to embrace TVET to make them employable, enhance their livelihoods and create wealth.