Inclusive Training Guide Level 3

Who it is for. Hub managers, lead trainers and inclusion coordinators who have finished Inclusive Training Guide Level 2, or can show the same skills. National Proficiency II leads to National Certificate I; this guide sits at about that level.

Why this matters

A 2025 survey of 203 TVET institutions found 54% had learners with special needs, but only half had easily accessible facilities, and only 6.7% cited the Disability Act in their measures. The biggest barriers were funding, materials and qualified facilitators.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

Level 2 did not cover hub-wide policy, universal design, specialist coordination, RPL accommodations, inclusion data or budgeting. This guide does.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent.

Competency standard

Range. The whole hub. Evidence. Policy; redesigned course plan; costed access plan.

The law behind the policy

• The Disability Act bans discrimination; employers may not discriminate unless the disability is relevant to the job; public places and services must be accessible; breaking these rules is an offence.
• Institutions may not refuse admission because of disability unless the person was officially assessed as needing a special school.
• The Minister of Education is to designate one technical or vocational institution in each region to teach sign language and braille. Which one serves the Western Region was not found.
• Existing public buildings had 10 years to become accessible, a deadline that passed around 2016.
• The UN Convention defines reasonable accommodation as necessary adjustments that do not impose a disproportionate burden. Refusing reasonable accommodation is discrimination, and designing for access from the start costs less.

Universal design for learning

UDL 3.0 has three principles: many ways to engage, many ways to represent information, and many ways for learners to act and express what they know. Plan every course this way so fewer individual changes are needed.

Audit to plan

Use the ramp, door and toilet guidance from Level 2. Cost each fix and rank it by how many people it helps.

Competency standard

Range. Two learners. Evidence. Support plans; specialist records.

Who learners are

Learners with special needs in TVET institutions had physical or mobility impairment (23.9%), visual impairment (23.9%), learning disabilities (16.7%) and neurodevelopmental or mental conditions (11.9%).

Specialists

• The Ghana National Association of the Deaf trains and certifies sign language interpreters.
• More than 2.5 billion people need assistive products, and access is very low in some poorer countries. About 16% of people worldwide have a significant disability.
• The Disability Act says the Ministry of Health should provide free medical care and devices for people with total disability.

Rules for the plan

Competency standard

Range. One assessment; one RPL candidate. Evidence. Procedure; agreed accommodations; candidate portfolio.

What CTVET says

The RPL policy applies to everyone regardless of disability, names persons with disabilities among disadvantaged groups, says their needs must be met, requires a fair appeal process, allows objects, pictures, videos and testimonials as evidence, and says assessment must avoid influences unrelated to the skill being assessed.

Most facilitators currently adapt with extra tutoring, seating changes and some assistive technology; the national report says this is "adaptive rather than systematically embedded".

Examples of accommodations

Competency standard

Range. The hub for one year. Evidence. Proposal; data plan; safeguarding system.

The disability fund

• The Assemblies' disability share rose from 3% to 5% from 2026, budgeted each year with the local GFD branch. It grew from about GH¢225 million in 2025 to about GH¢438 million in 2026, and new guidelines shift it from cash to devices, skills training, start-up capital and accessible infrastructure.
• Revised guidelines added standard forms, needs assessments and fund committees. Western Region leaders have reported disputes and late payments.
• The National Council on Persons with Disability coordinates organisations and resources and keeps registers.
• Donor projects in TVET include programmes focused on women and persons with disabilities in the Western Region.

Counting inclusion

The Washington Group Short Set asks about difficulty seeing, hearing, walking, remembering, self-care and communicating, with four answers from "no difficulty" to "cannot do at all". Ask with consent, store answers apart from names, and report only group counts.

Safeguarding

Women and girls with disabilities face much higher rates of gender-based violence.

Competency standard

Range. Three graduates. Evidence. Placement records; registration checklists.

Employment law to use

• Persons with disabilities may register with a Public Employment Centre; employers must notify the nearest Centre when they employ one; the contract must state the job, hours, pay, transport and any special arrangements; notice is at least one month; and a worker who becomes disabled keeps a suitable job.
• The Disability Act says employers must provide suitable tools and facilities and retrain workers disabled at work.
• The ILO Global Business and Disability Network offers employers a charter and self-assessment. A Ghana garment factory example shows what inclusive employment can look like.
• An extractive-industry inclusion project has covered the Western Region. No inclusive Western Region employers were verified.

Helping graduates start businesses

Incentives

• The Disability Act provides for a tax rebate for employers of persons with disabilities, special incentives for disabled business owners, and help with training, tools and loans for people who have searched for work over two years; regulations for the rebate were not found. The Parliament copy confirms section 10(1) leaves the amount to regulations, so there is no fixed percentage in the Act, and section 11 requires employers to provide the tools and facilities a disabled worker needs.
• A secondary source reports a 25% personal income tax relief for persons with disabilities. Confirm with GRA.
• The GEA's enterprise programme gave grants and support to 150 businesses owned by persons with disabilities.

Competency standard

Range. One graduate business; the hub budget. Evidence. Adapted records; inclusion budget; spending report.

Accessible books for graduates

Assets = liabilities + owner's equity. Keep the same accounts, change the format:

Keep receipts for at least 6 years. Free tools such as Zoho Books or Wave work with screen readers to varying degrees; test them first.

The hub's inclusion budget

No verified Ghana prices were found for interpreters, braille or devices: collect quotes.

Competency standard

Range. The hub for one year. Evidence. Partnership list; staff training record; inclusion plan.

Partners

Targets to track

Capstone

Present to the hub's management: a one-year inclusion plan with budget, funding sources and targets.

1. Can a training institution refuse a learner because of disability?
2. What is reasonable accommodation?
3. Name the three UDL principles.
4. Who leads a support plan?
5. What may an accommodation never remove?
6. What kinds of RPL evidence does CTVET allow?
7. What share of the Assembly fund goes to persons with disabilities from 2026?
8. Name the six Washington Group areas.
9. What must an employer do when they employ a person with a disability?
10. Name two safeguarding rules.
11. Name four lines in an inclusion budget.
12. Write the accounting equation.

Best next reads: your Level 2 guide; CAST UDL 3.0; the Washington Group Short Set; the Hub's Money Skills Level 2.

What this guide does not cover: medical diagnosis, sign language or braille courses, and legal advice.

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.