The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has recorded over 100,000 beneficiaries under its different modules between January 2025 and September 2026.
The 100,628 beneficiaries represent approximately 75.7 per cent of the agency’s annual recruitment target of 133,000.
Addressing journalists at the Government Accountability Series at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of YEA, Malik Basintale, said the agency had achieved more than three-quarters of its recruitment target ,with three months left in the year.
He said the agency had also increased beneficiary recruitment by at least 566.67 per cent since February 2025, and raised monthly beneficiary allowances from GH¢500 to GH¢800, a 60 per cent increase.
Security retention
On job security, Mr Basintale said at least 60 per cent of beneficiaries engaged under the agency’s security sector programmes were expected to be absorbed into security agencies after their two-year engagement.
He said this formed part of a memoranda of understanding signed with the security agencies as part of efforts to provide beneficiaries with sustained employment opportunities.
“Our vision is simple: Youth employment must increasingly become a bridge to lasting careers, rather than a temporary response to unemployment,” he said.
Mr Basintale explained that YEA was not an institution that employed people directly into the mainstream public and private sectors, but a stop-gap institution that partnered other institutions to secure training, attachment and professional skills development for beneficiaries.
Module performance
On performance of its modules, the CEO said 11,788 Community Police Assistants were engaged, trained and deployed as against a target of 12,000, representing 98.2 per cent.
The Fire Service Assistants recorded 4,888 beneficiaries as against a target of 5,000, or 97.8 per cent, while the Prison Office Assistants recorded 5,207 against a target of 5,000, or 104.1 per cent.
The Community Medical First Responders recorded 5,585 beneficiaries as against a target of 6,000, representing 93.1 per cent, while the Arabic Teaching Programme recorded 6,962 beneficiaries against a target of 6,000, or 116 per cent.
The Youth in Garment and Apparel module had 9,373 beneficiaries as against a target of 10,000, or 93.7 per cent, while the Northshore Garment Project met its target of 1,000 beneficiaries, all of whom were subsequently employed.
The Trades and Vocation module was the strongest-performing by percentage, recording 51,900 beneficiaries as against an annual target of 30,000, representing 173 per cent.
Mr Basintale said the Labour Exchange Programme had recruited over 1,000 beneficiaries for employment opportunities in different countries, while the agency had signed an MoU with the Ghana Digital Centre to enrol 2,000 beneficiaries into IT-related programmes.
He added that the agency had also signed an MoU with the Ghana Education Service to onboard 6,000 Community Teaching Assistants by the end of November, while 2,000 beneficiaries were expected to be onboarded under the Safe and Fast Community Transport initiative next month.
Challenges
Mr Basintale said notwithstanding the progress, the agency continued to face funding and operational challenges, including the capping of the Communication Service Tax and the non-allocation of resources from the District Assemblies Common Fund.
He said Section 23(b) of the YEA Act provided for 80 per cent of CST revenue as a funding source, while Section 23(c) provided for 10 per cent of the Common Fund, subject to the formula approved by Parliament.
He appealed for a review of the capping framework and renewed consideration of the statutory funding arrangement to enable the agency discharge its mandate effectively.
For 2027, Mr Basintale said the agency would prioritise a Domestic Services Employment Programme, Youth in Delivery Services Programme, Youth in Corporate Services Programme, Youth in Agriculture and Farming Support Services.
He also announced that under the Ghana Women and Youth Employment and Social Cohesion Programme, supported by the African Development Bank, about US$3.6 million, equivalent to GH¢44 million, had been earmarked for YEA to enable it to employ 11,200 beneficiaries, wth recruitment to begin in the first week of November 2026.
Mr Basintale further said the agency was considering an amendment of its Act to become Ghana’s only employment corridor into the mainstream.
“Our commitment is to ensure that no young Ghanaian is left behind in our collective pursuit of economic empowerment and national development because the YEA is for all,” he said.
