Skills training project for youth launched in Accra

A €947,000 project to provide employable skills to the youth in some selected communities in the Western and Greater Accra regions has been launched.

The project is aimed at providing vocational skills such as welding, bead-making, construction works, tailoring, among other skills, to people in marginalised and deprived communities in the two regions.

Over 8,000 people in the Ellembelle District in the Western Region and the Ayawaso East and Ablekuma South sub metros in the Accra Metropolis are to benefit from the initiative.

The three-year project is dubbed: “Growing economic opportunities for sustainable development (GEOP).”

The programme is being funded by the European Union (EU) and Christian Aid, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Launch

The Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Bright Wireko Brobbey, who launched the project in Accra last Thursday, said the project was in line with the agenda 2030 sustainable development programme of the United Nations.

He said NGOs and other civil society organisations (CSOs) could play significant roles in the attainment of the Goal 8 of the SDGs which is to “promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.”

Mr Brobbey said the government would continue to strengthen the private sector to boost growth and development.

“It is our responsibility to build on existing synergies, strengthen collaboration and enhance linkages that will push towards job creation and skills development through government’s flagship policies and programmes,” the minister further stated.

Concerns

The Minister of Inner Cities and Zongo  Development, Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, expressed concern over some negative perceptions of people living in Zongo communities in the country.

According to him, social vices and other criminal activities practised in some parts of the Zongos were as a result of prevailing high rates of youth unemployment in those communities.

Alhaji Boniface said unemployment was a global issue that needed to be addressed and added that the situation was more prevalent in the Zongo communities where there were deprivation and lack of education.

“Some schools of thought have attributed the underdevelopment of Zongo communities to the low level of education among indigenes and the dormancy of the youth as a result of unemployment,” he added.

Opportunities

Alhaji Boniface said the GEOP project would provide opportunity for the youth to be nurtured and trained to enable them to gain the needed skills to set up their own businesses or be made employable.

“The contribution of the project to the development of selected Zongo communities in the Ayawaso East District cannot be overlooked as the project will help provide jobs for the beneficiaries, and more importantly, improve their standards of living,” he noted.

Alhaji Boniface commended the EU for its support to the country over the years and expressed the hope that the support would be extended to other deprived communities in the country.

Decision

A speech read on behalf of the Head of Governance Section of the EU delegation to Ghana, Ms Maria Luisa Troncoso, said the EU decided to support the project to enhance economic opportunities for young people in the informal sector through partnerships, strengthening of women’s groups and increasing revenue mobilisation and transparency in governance.