KNUST Jewellery Centre & PMMC assist jewellers

By Seth KRAMPAH, Kumasi

Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology’s Jewellery Design & Technology Centre (KJDTC)   and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited (PMMC) are collaborating to offer training in jewellery manufacturing and repairs as well as marketing.

The Department of Computer Science at the KNUST has formally 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 a guaranteed employment.

Research carried out among 250 Jewellers in the Kumasi Metropolitan area in Ashanti Region has revealed the need to upgrade the technological skills of jewellers in the region.

The CEO of KJDTC, Mr Joseph Arthur told Business & Financial Times in an exclusive interview in Kumasi that the primary objective behind the collaboration is to move away from the archaic way of designing and manufacturing jewellery and to use computer to design jewellery.

According to him, the participation of   the Computer Science Department will offer skills training programme that will transfer Computer-Aided Jewellery Design (CAD) technology to jewellers to increase production.

Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited’s involvement in the collaboration is to assist in the effective marketing of the jewellery and ultimately to export jewellery to compete with the international market.    

The jewellery industry has made a lot of contributions to the national development in terms of value addition, foreign exchange and employment creation.

A study has revealed that in spite of their significant contribution 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 jewellery design sector has been at a slow pace and this has hampered the growth of the industry.

A number of jewellers have expressed strong interest to constantly upgrade the skills of their personnel, through training and retraining strategies in Computer-Aided Jewellery Design (CAD)/Computer-Aided Jewellery Manufacturing (CAM), to enhance their productivity, increase their competiveness, create more jobs and increase income.

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