Professor Samuel Ampadu, Provost of the College of Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has called on artisans at the Suame Magazine to take advantage of its Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU) to upgrade their skills.

He said given the requisite training of the artisans, the Magazine could be transformed into an economically-viable steel industry.

The college has every reason to believe that through technology transfer and information sharing, the artisans could in the long term adopt cost-effective and best practices to enable them to respond appropriately to the metal needs of the nation and the sub-region.

Prof Ampadu was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region on the sidelines of a day’s exhibition mounted by the artisans and members of the Association for Small-Scale Industries (ASSI).

The event provided a platform for the participants to showcase their products and handiworks to facilitate their marketability.

It was held under the auspices of the College and International Development Design Summit (IDDS), a forum of allied professionals and inventors working to reduce poverty in developing countries.

Some of the items exhibited were locally-manufactured water pump machines, cash safes, microwave ovens and other metal and foundry works.

Prof Ampadu appealed to corporate bodies and the government to commit resources towards strengthening structures at the ITTU and equip it with modern teaching equipment to boost academic work.

Mr Kwame Bour, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ASSI, called on the government to create an enabling environment to support the growth of small-scale industries since the private sector played crucial role in job creation and poverty reduction.

Source: GNA

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