Graduate Enterprise Fund for job creation to be set up

Direct Services Associates (DSA), a Non- Governmental Organisation, is to set up a Graduate Enterprise Fund and Job Plus Centres to develop entrepreneurship skills of unemployed graduates.

The Fund would assist unemployed graduates’ initiatives, viable business ventures and create job opportunities nationwide.

A statement issued in Accra on Monday said managers of the Fund would provide advice and support to those seeking employment in the public and private sectors as well as provide free career and counselling services.

It said the Fund and the Job Centres would be created in all 10 regions to provide grants on regional basis to applicants.

Mr Barima Adu-Asamoa, Director of the Organisation, said the Job Centres concept is a well-established social intervention policy practiced in developed countries.

He said given the level of unemployed young men and women in the country, it was prudent that they were engaged to be able to take viable business initiatives to better their standard of living.

“We could however collectively re-direct this attitude to mean connecting with people outside with the view of forging partnership to bring business into the country,” Mr Adu-Asamoa said.

He added that contributions to the Fund would come from public and private institutions and individual donors to be administered independently.

“We are currently in discussion with relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare for the necessary support to enable the programme to take-off,” he said.

Mr Adu-Asamoa indicated that the DSA was currently recruiting 200 unemployed graduates for 2011 to go into various job vacancies in media, communication, events management, tourism and the education sectors.

Source: GNA