The collaboration between the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the Mastercard Young African Works Project, has produced 12,000 hands-on training jobs for unemployed Ghanaian youths under the Apprenticeship to Entrepreneurship (A2E), the Chief Executive of GEA, Mrs. Kosi Yankey Ayeh, has disclosed.
Mrs. Yankey Ayeh has further disclosed that per their target, they were to train 8,000 people under and A2E module, but they have overshot their mark and trained 12,000 people.
She added that in their quest to curb unemployment among Ghanaian youths, they have given out start-up kits to 3,000 people across Ghana within the first quarter.
According to her, they are embarking on this exercise to ensure that youth unemployment is eradicated or minimised.
“Across the world, youth unemployment is a challenge. To be able to address this challenge, government, in partnership with GEA and other government agencies, decided to come up with a programme to ensure that we build skills and transform these skills into businesses,” she stressed.
She added that through these interventions, through working and talking and through needs and assessment in various districts, they have understood the needs of a lot of these youths in the communities.
Mrs. Kosi Yankey Ayeh made these revelations on the sidelines of the graduation ceremony and distribution of start-up kits to beneficiaries of the A2E, which was held at Mampong, Ashanti, under the GEA/Mastercard Young Africa Works Project.
Drawn from Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) such as Ejura Sekyedumase and Agona, 286 youths (male and females) underwent training in welding and fabrication, hairdressing, baking and confectionery, and sewing to attain skills and eke out a living. The beneficiaries were given tools such as hair dryers, sewing machines, welding machines, ovens, among others.
The objective of the GEA/Mastercard Young Africa Works is to equip the youth with skill to attain a decent living and thereby building their respective local economies.
Delving deep into the A2E project, she disclosed to the media that there are three main modules – namely: Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship – that look at those resuscitated and innovations they want to bring about.
Urging the beneficiaries about the opportunity given them, she said that it is very rare that people are provided with gadgets to go and start something on their own, adding that if they are fortunate to be among the chosen ones and given the tools, coupled with the know-how, it is very important that they go out and implement their skills.
In a message read on behalf of the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng, he acknowledged that youth unemployment is a challenge to every nation.
As such, the Trade Minister added that, government, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has put up measures to help youths to get employed, and thereby curb this menace of youth unemployment.
Part of measures to provide jobs for the Ghanaian youth, Alan said, led to the GEA and Mastercard Young Africa partnership – which aims to help curb unemployment among the youth.
He pleaded with the beneficiaries to make use of what they have learnt, imploring: “Having attained the skill and training, you are going to be provided with machines for sewing, hairdressing, and oven for baking. Please do not take these opportunities for granted and work anyhow; work with them to eke out a living, and if you are able to earn a living, then your parents, traditional leaders and entire Ghanaians would be happy about this development”, he stressed.
