Occupational Skills and Development

Closely linked to the provision of literacy skills in reading, writing and numeracy are poverty reduction and economic empowerment.   Critical to NFED’s goal of reducing poverty through functional literacy is occupational skills development. In view of this occupational skills development activities have been integrated into the core activities of all literacy classes. The Occupational Skills and Development (OSD) Unit is responsible for the coordination of the occupational skills and development activities of learners.

To achieve its objectives, the Unit conducts feasibility studies in target communities to ascertain viability of Income Generating Groups (IGG’s). It also organizes capacity building programmes for selected groups as well as schedule officers at all levels of the programme and trains IGG leaders in micro finance. The Unit organizes monitoring and follow-up visits to all supported IGA groups to ascertain progress being made on the ground.

Some projects being undertaken by the Income Generating Groups include cassava processing, edible oil extraction, weaving, farming, grain banking, animal rearing, fish smoking and petty trading.

An Income Generating Activity group on their Vegetable farm at Kani Village in the Upper West Region

Basket Weaving group at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region