22 COMPLETE TRAINING IN PORT MANAGEMENT (PAGE 18, NOV 9, 2010)

TWENTY-TWO people drawn from six organisations involved in port operations have completed a year’s training programme aimed at equipping them with modern port management skills.
The training programme, dubbed “Train-For-Trade”, was facilitated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Dublin Port Company experts and local experts from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), and sought to foster economic development.
The 22 participants were drawn from organisations such as the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), MOL Ghana, Ghana Shippers Authority, Ghana Maritime University, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and Advanced Stevedoring Company.
Participants were taken through International Trade and Transport modules, Organisation of a Port System, Future Challenges to Ports, Methods and Tools of Management, Technical Management and Human Resource Development, among others.
The UNCTAD Project Expert, Mr Mark Assaf, commended the GPHA for its role in the training programme.
He said the Modern Port Management training was implemented by UNCTAD in port communities of English-speaking developing countries in co-operation with Dublin Port Company, and with support from Irish Aid participating ports on a pilot base.
Other countries involved in the programme include Tanzania, Indonesia, Malaysia and Maldives.
The Director-General of the GPHA, Mr Nestor Galley, expressed appreciation to UNCTAD, Irish Aid and Dublin Port Company for extending the training programme to Ghana and called on all companies at the port to get involved in the project to improve the knowledge of their staff.
He indicated that the programme, which was organised on a pilot basis, was a good investment because at the end of the course, participants would appreciate the industry better.
The participants were awarded certificates and presented with books on the maritime industry to enhance their knowledge.
Mr Galley also indicated that the GPHA had renewed the participation contract in order to develop the industry and expand it to cover many people.
A lecturer in the Port and Shipping Department of the Ghana Maritime University, Mrs Felicity Ankomah Sey, was adjudged the best participant. She was given certificates of merit, maritime books and a laptop as her award.
Officials from Dublin Port Company, represented by a Director, Mr John Moore, and an evaluation team made up of Mr Patrick Madger and Mr John Hoy from Irish AID evaluated the course.