Gov’t urged to implement Jobs and Enterprises Center project
The Government has been asked to roll out the Jobs and Enterprises Center (JEC) nationwide, as promised by President John Mahama during the state of the nation address in January 2013.
Participants at the just ended Annual Youth Forum, organized by Youth Empowerment for Life, made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of a three-day youth conference, in Tamale.
It was on the theme: “A Concrete Exit Strategy on GYEEDA Exit Plan for Youth in Ghana; a Means to Sustainable Employment”.
They said the initiative, if implemented, would assist Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) beneficiaries as well as prospective ones.
The communiqué recommended to Government to pass a legislation establishing GYEEDA as an agency for reducing unemployment amongst the youth.
It said for the initiative to fulfill the nation’s constitutional provision of the right to work and to receive appropriate remuneration for decent and dignified living, Government should add onto the two-year contract period, a recruitment pay-roll system for the GYEEDA beneficiaries.
The communiqué said that such a system could help to easily track the progress of beneficiaries who exited from GYEEDA.
The communiqué suggested that in order to make the Agency’s exit plans more effective, an appropriate labour market and demand studies should be conducted, to support the roll-out of required modules, to enable the youth to contribute efficiently to national development.
It proposed that after the restructuring of GYEEDA currently ongoing, Government should incorporate the informal sector in the design and delivery of the various modules.
The communiqué asked GYEEDA to work with Technical and Vocational Institutions in skills development in sectors of construction and housing, tourism and hospitality, livestock and horticulture, oil and gas and electronics as well as mechanical engineering as alternative for those who would not benefit from the exit plan.
Regarding the exit plan, the statement suggested that it should be strategically formulated to be demand driven and tailor-made to empower the youth in sustainable enterprises.
The communiqué called on Government to abolish the high management fees paid to management consultants, who enrich themselves instead of the teeming unemployed youth in Ghana.
It said GYEEDA, after its restructuring should institute a tracer studies on beneficiaries exiting from its modules, in order to properly trace the successes and the challenges of the beneficiaries for effective action for sustainable entrepreneurial development.
Source: GNA