Mr. Principal, members of staff (both teaching and non-teaching), students body here present, I am privileged to be with you this morning so that together, we can have a serious conversation on issues of importance firstly to ourselves in particular and to our nation in general.

I personally consider this platform an important one in view of the fact that, I am a product of this centre. I was nurtured with specialties in auto mechanics, furthered my studies at the Accra Polytechnic and came back as a matter of national and divine obligation to serve as a national service person.

Ladies and gentlemen, my presence here right at this very moment is not by accident.  It is rather a combination of passion and moral obligation on my part to serve my alma mater and by the kind courtesy of the authorities here that have brought me here.

I am going to speak about the importance of technical education in nation building. However, I consider it very vital to let you understand where you find yourself right here and to uncover the opportunities available to you here and beyond.

Firstly, I would most respectfully like to disabuse your mind of the negative perception that has over the years held regarding technical education as being a second option or path to a better education and in essence to a prosperous future.

Fellow students, your choice of the profession as technician was not, I am sure because you are not good students, no! it is because you have voluntarily chosen to go the way. People of other disciplines can only be better than you if you see yourself as such. I say to you now and any other time that, your profession is as important as any other discipline under the universe. The Technical profession is a universal trade that cuts across borders irrespective of language and nationality. If you are an electrician or an auto mechanic, you can work at any part of the world without learning to speak the language.

Please be reminded that, the practice of other professions are restricted in other parts of the world but certainly not you, you can work in any part of the world as long as you take your studies seriously and practice the trade properly, your services will always be needed on the job market.

In some professions, when your license is revoked, you will never be allowed to practice your profession regardless of how many years you have worked or learned.  But the good news is that, as a technician, your license is the quality of service you render to customers, so only you (yourself) can determine when your license will expire.

Technical Education is vital for the growth of any country. It takes ages to make a nation into a developed country and a prosperous one. It requires effort from all and sundry. Interestingly, the service of a technician plays a key role in this process. So what you are here to learn, learn it well because, “when you know it well, you can do it better”.

As a professional technician, you have absolute power to an unfolding future, the future will be unlimited for you and you will have the power to change your personal history, to change the direction of your life and broaden your horizon only if you can develop a good mental attitude right now to enable you start a new beginning.

Whatever will be the outcome of your successful stay at this centre will start to manifest right after here because, it’s all about you. This centre has some special facilities and equipment that are hardly found in any of the tertiary institutions in this country. The teachers are extremely experienced and they are capable of guiding you to make good use of your time here. This and any nation in the world today can never grow without your contribution as technicians.

When we think about Housing Facilities, Power Supply (Electricity), Telecommunication, Transportation etc. Technical education is the engine that propels nation building. Interestingly, these are the areas that are totally under your control in view of the variety of specialization that you are exposed to.

Do you now see the reason why we have several Secondary Technical Schools across the country? It is because the authorities know the importance of technical education though they can never do it better than we can. The difference is that, much of our training is based on practical work which is essentially the pre-requisite for all engineering related fields. If you know it better, you can do it better.

When it comes to administration, we are also well versed in it. Mr. Budu Smith was once a student at this centre, he rose to the position of a teacher, Principal on two successful terms, Director of Technical Education and finally the Director General of the Ghana Education Service GES).  Because he did and did it well, there are possibilities that any of you here today can do same or even better because he has already laid a good foundation.

I was also a student here, and believe me; I can see a bigger picture of myself right now. It has always being my passion to better the lives of others and this is the very reason why I am here with you today.

Before I end my speech, please permit me to give you some few guides that will help make things easier and better for you in your chosen career.

  • Be always positive about yourself because you are never and will never be less than a human that can meaningfully contribute to society.
  • Always make sure to just do one good thing for yourself, or your family, department, class or the intuition because well-wishers are always counting on you.
  • Always share ideas and make time with people who can add value to your life and not those who will discourage you, knowing that, you are here for a purpose.
  • Always try as much as you can to measure your performance against your target on a daily basis. Do not do things only because others are doing it. Always analyze the good and the bad side of it before taking action.
  • Set your goals now to be the best child of your parent, best student in class / department of the whole school.
  • Lastly, be respectful to all manner of persons.

Always remember that, everything we do today is a manifestation of what we believe sub-consciously that we deserve and possibly belongs to us. It is my prayers and wishes that all of you will be very successful and become useful assets to society.

Ghana needs you, your parents need you. Make yourself, your family and this centre proud of you at all times. Remember the motto of the centre is: “Training, Industry and Progress” means that, you are going to be trained, to go into the industries and make progress for yourself and the country!

LAWRENCE SAAH VARNIE

Director, Cradle of Hope for Relief and Development