Training centre co-financed by DEG opens in Ghana

On 11 February 2019, during the German African Business Summit in Ghana, Isabel Knauf, Group Managing Director and shareholder of Knauf Group, together with Dr Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Christiane Laibach, Chairwoman of the DEG Management Board, opened a new Knauf Group training centre in Accra.

Covering an area of around 600 m², the new training centre will offer up to 800 training places a year. In addition to theoretical training, the centre places great emphasis on imparting practical knowledge: trainees learn, for example, how different gypsum-based building materials are processed. Training courses are aimed at architects and construction engineers as well as at workers on construction sites.

Training combining theory and practice

Speaking at the opening in Ghana, Isabel Knauf stressed that: “For Knauf, Africa is a strategic growth region for the years ahead. To that end, training centres constitute an integral component of a successful market presence. They prepare the ground for further investment by Knauf in local production facilities.”

“A new, ideally equipped training centre has been established in Accra,” said Laibach. “Young people will gain vocational qualifications on site and will subsequently be available to the Ghanaian construction sector as much needed skilled workers. DEG is delighted to provide its support and African expertise to this initiative.”

Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, explained: “Young people in Ghana need training and jobs; that is the only way for them to find prospects in their homeland. This is precisely where our training centre and the Knauf Group come in. Ghanaians with top vocational qualifications will also be able to contribute to the further development and advancement of their country.”

The project is being financed by Knauf and co-financed by DEG with funds from the develoPPP.de programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The training centre forms part of a large-scale joint training offensive by Knauf, DEG and BMZ in countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. The initiative includes plans to train 12,000 people within three years.

DEG has already supported a number of Knauf’s investments. In addition to training centres in Africa, similar initiatives are planned in the Middle East and Latin America, where further drywall construction training centres are set to be established.