Knowledge and Skills Gap Analyses of Technical Universities in Ghana

Abstract

The human capital of every organization which comprises of its portfolio of skills and knowledge, makes the organization distinct and also gives it competitive advantage since they are intangible assets that cannot be counterfeited by rivals. Polytechnics in Ghana were converted to Technical Universities in 2016 with a unique mandate to churn out graduates that meet the expectations of the industry. The study analyses the skills and knowledge gaps of technical universities and how these can affect their quest to deliver on their new mandate. All the Technical Universities in Ghana were considered for the study, and a non-probability sampling technique which is convenience sampling was used to select participants for the study who were mainly teaching staff, accountants or senior accountants where appropriate. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. Results of the study revealed that, there are huge skills and knowledge gaps which are enshrined in the technical universities governing instruments particularly the Technical Universities Act since greater part of the teaching staff see industrial skills, knowledge in competency mode of curriculum development and delivery as well as research and proposal writing skills to be very important, yet a significant number of them do not possess these skills and knowledge. The study made some theoretical and empirical contributions that will help technical universities and their stakeholders. Limitations and recommendations that will guide future researchers who may be interested in researching on a similar topic was also outlined.