The former Teferi Mekonen School, which commemorated its centenary in April, claims that the current Entoto Polytechnic College is one of the industries generating vocational jobs in the country.
If they see people who have learnt technical and vocational skills opening factories and other manufacturing businesses and creating a large number of jobs, those who still think that education is limited to going to college will realise their error.
The college’s dean, Teshome Fayisa, says its graduates are doing great work in a range of manufacturing and service sectors.
“A country cannot advance without production. Production calls for experience. By encouraging skills through education and training, we are producing citizens who start factories and become business owners. We’re happy about this, but it will take time to grow the sector without similar institutions,” he said.
During this fiscal year, 2,039 students will be trained in various professional fields up to the Grade 5 level, he said.
He said that he would provide training in eleven of the more than 40 educational fields.
He said the special website allows citizens with master’s and bachelor’s degrees, as well as students who completed the 12th grade starting in 2020, to register. The arts department, ICT, hotel and tourism, automotive, metal and woodworking, urban agriculture, construction, business and finance, and makeup and hair are just a few of the professional fields in which the college is always ready to provide training, he continued.
The course is offered on regular, evening, and weekend days, along with brief training sessions. Additionally, there is a registration fee. He explained that the payment would be made using Tele Birr.
Vocational education is often undervalued in Ethiopia today. Many students prefer traditional academic pathways.
However, this trend is slowly changing. Growing awareness of the benefits is encouraging more enrolments.
The disparity between industry standards and classroom instruction has been regularly brought to the attention of industry leaders. To close the skills gap, the Ethiopian government formed the Ministry of Labour and Skills.
It has been revealed that the former students plan to build a four-story building for the current Enteto Polytechnic College, formerly known as Teferi Mekonon School, which is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary this fiscal year.
In 1825, roughly 23 Wolga students were admitted as the school’s first boarding students.
Considered one of the first institutions in Ethiopia’s history of modern education training, the school has been embraced by generations since 2003. Since then, it has been called Entoto Polytechnic College.