The African Development Bank Group's Board on Wednesday, approved a loan and a grant totaling USD 108 million (about UA 70 million) from African Development Fund concessionary resources to finance an industrial skills development project in Ghana.

The grant component of the Development of Skills for Industry Project (DSIP) amounts to USD 38.5 million.

The project, which is designed to reinforce the Ghana government's efforts to develop industrial skills through technical and vocational education and training, is considered to be "an operation of the highest priority" in both the public and private sectors of the country's economy.

Presenting the project to the Board, Bocary Savadogo, a division manager in the human development department, said the project is designed to improve equitable access to quality and relevant technical, vocational education and training so as to enhance intermediate level technical and vocational skills particularly needed to foster productivity, balanced economic growth, poverty reduction and overall economic development. "The project aligns perfectly well with the Government's Education Sector Development Plan 2003-2015, the Bank's Higher Education Science and Technology (HEST) Strategy, the just approved Bank's Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2012-2016 and the proposed Human Capital Development Strategy as well as emerging New Model of Education for Africa (NEMA," Mr Savadogo explained.

The Board expressed satisfaction with the project, noting that it represents a major innovation in its approach to technical and vocational skills development for countries like Ghana aspiring to join the Bank's middle income country status. Finally, the Board said that the project can have a catalytic effect on Ghana's capacity building in policy making, strategic planning and programming, among others, if it is well implemented.