The Skills Development Fund

The Skills Development Fund Profile and History

The SDF is currently managed by the Secretariat of COTVET with funding from Government and development partners. At the outset, the SDF is funded by three sources: The World Bank (IDA) through the Ghana Skills and Technology Development Project (2011-2015), DANIDA through the Support to Private Sector Development Programme (2010-2014) and the Government of Ghana. The SDF is expected in the mediu m term to be mainstreamed and become the Government's principal instrument for providing financial support to skills and technology innovation through collaboration between key stakeholders such as Government, development partners, industry-specific operators. The SDF provides equal opportunity for public and private training providers to access funding support on a competitive basis; a commitment to greater cost-sharing through private sector and learner contributions to the cost of training and technological development; and facilitates the establishment of Ghanaian national quality assurance mechanisms to improve the quality of delivery and the confidence of beneficiaries in the training and skills they acquire. The SDF supports proposals in selected sectors aiming to improve productivity, revenues or earnings through improved skills or improved technologies, and to create jobs. Within the selected sectors, the selection of proposals will be competitive; it will be based on the relevance, realism and sustainability of the planned outcomes and partnerships. The SDF will finance programmes under four funding windows. Based on an assessment of employment and income prospects, the Project Steering Committee is expected to advise the COTVET Board on sectors, industries, value chain target groups, etc., that should be given high priority in funding. The target areas for support will have to be revised regularly as the economy develops and on the basis of ongoing monitoring and evaluation routines. Initially the SDF will encourage applications from five sectors: construction & housing