Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s Jewelry Design & Technology Centre (KJDTC) and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited (PMMC) are collaborating to offer training in jewelry manufacturing and repairs as well as marketing.
The department of Computer Science at the KNUST has formerly registered its readiness to develop computer software for manufacturers and develop skills in ICT with the assistance of foreign tutors. The programme is a three-month course with guaranteed employment.
Research carried out among 250 jewelers in the Kumasi Metropolis in Ashanti Region has revealed the need to upgrade the technological skills of jewelers in the region.
The CEO of KJDTC, Mr. Joseph Arthur told B&FT in an interview in Kumasi that, the primary objective behind the collaboration is to move away from the archaic way of designing and manufacturing jewelry and to use computer to design jewelry.
According to him, the participation of the computer Science Department will offer skills training that will transfer Computer-Aided Jewelry Design (CAD) technology to jewelry to increase production.
PMMC’s involvement in the collaboration is to assist in the effective marketing of the jewelry and ultimately to export jewelry to compete with the national market.
The jewelry industry has made a lot of contribution to the national development in terms of value addition.
A study has revealed that in spite of their significant contributions to national development efforts, players in the industry lack skills and knowledge in latest technologies to design jewels that meet international standards.
Technological development in the jewelry design sector has been at slow pace and this has hampered the growth of the industry.
However, a number of jewelers have expressed strong interest to constantly upgrade the skills of their personnel, through training and retraining strategies in Computer-Aid Jewelry Design (CAD)/Computer-Aid Jewelry Manufacturing (CAM), to enhance their productivity, increase their competiveness, create more jobs and increase income in the industry.
