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Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president, has tasked leaders of both public and private organizations to find and execute creative methods to support the government’s efforts to create jobs nationwide.
Speaking on November 23, 2022, at Goaso in the Ahafo Region, Dr. Bawumia noted that the youth make up a sizable section of Ghana’s population and that deliberate efforts must be taken to satisfy their job goals.
The Ahafo Youth Skills Development and Job Creation Initiative, developed and implemented by the Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council, led by Hon. George Yaw Boakye, Regional Minister, in collaboration with the private sector, was the first region-led intervention in skills development and employment creation.
The program aims to teach 1,200 young people from the region’s six districts in skills including carpentry, joinery, hairdressing, painting, and decorating as well as ICT, fashion design, building construction, auto mechanics (fitting), general electrical (auto and civil), and welding.
A monitoring team was established to make sure the trainees received the proper training, and each Municipal/District Coordinating Council also received a check for Ghs25,000 to support youth training.
Vice President Bawumia noted that Ghana’s youth as a percentage of the overall population is growing quickly while presenting welding machines, hair dryers, sewing machines, aluminum ovens, sets of tools (auto mechanics, carpentry, electrical, pedicure, barbering, etc.), trowels, and other tools to the various Assemblies.
“The recent census conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service pegs our current youth population at 38.2%. On the positive side it means Ghana has an abundance of human resource necessary to drive our economic growth and that we are not in danger of facing shortage of skilled labour.
“This however means we are under immense pressure to ensure that sustainable employment opportunities are created for the youth in order to keep them productive and mitigate the possible security threats posed by an idle youth population.
“It is for this reason that I am excited to join you this afternoon as we launch the Ahafo Youth Skills Development and Employment creation initiative.
“If I am not mistaken, Nana Chair, this is the first regional-led skills development and employment creation intervention and I convey my heartfelt congratulations to the RCC, participating MMDAs and to especially our private sector partners such as Newmont Ghana Gold Company Limited, Golden Team Mining Company and Supremo Wood Processing Company Limited, who have been great collaborators.”
Dr Bawumia urged the programme implementers to “inculcate entrepreneurship and soft skills training into the curriculum since trainees will be given the much needed start-up capital to set up their enterprises. Efforts must also be made to connect the beneficiaries to the market to encourage patronage of their services.”
Nana Kwasi Bosomprah I, President and Omanhene of the Goaso Traditional Council who was Chairman for the occasion, urged the trainees and the Assemblies to imbibe the culture of maintenance, pointing out that the outcome of this first cohort will largely determine the future of the programme.
“If you take your training seriously, and you maintain these nice, brand new equipment that you are getting today, the Minister and the people who support him and the RCC will help to train your younger brothers and sisters in future,” he added.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
