About 10,000 youth in Western Region to be trained
The National Youth Authority (NYA) would by the end of next year pay for the training of ten thousand youth in the western region in the operations of heavy duty equipment and earth moving machines.
Mr Richard Obeng Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NYA, who announced this at the regional celebration of Africa Youth Day in Takoradi, said the trained youth would be given employment in the new factories that would be established under the one District One Factory programme.
The day celebrated, on the theme, “Harnessing the Demographic Dividends through investment in the Youth”, was attended by more than 500 youth, drawn from the various MMDAs in the western region.
The day is set aside to honour the role played by Ghana’s young women and men in the pursuit of political independence and socio-economic development.
Mr Obeng said the Authority was also liaising with the various MMDAs to train about 300 youth in each region in ICT, particularly in the digital software, digital marketing and other programmes which would be of relevance to the districts.
He said the NYA would partner the relevant companies to train the youth in how to repair and fix street lights across the country.
The deputy CEO of NYA advised the youth to take advantage of the various employment opportunities such as the One District One Factory programme, planting for food and jobs initiative and investment programmes to get employment.
He said the government was committed to creating jobs for the teaming unemployed Youth in the country and that the 5 per cent allocation of the district assembly common fund for youth development was in the right direction.
Mr Obeng said the authority would continue to dialogue with companies like Tullow Ghana Limited and Seaweld Engineering Ltd to consider giving jobs to the youth, under the local content policy.
The Western Regional Minister, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, in a speech read for him said the government was well positioned more than ever to deliver on her mandate and campaign promises through the various ministries, especially the NYA.
He gave the assurance that the government would ensure the operationalization of the National Youth Authority Act 939 of 2016 to the benefit of Ghanaian youth.
The Minister lauded the allocation of 5 per cent of the district common fund for youth development and asked that they should jealously and properly manage it to meet the aspirations of the youth of Ghana.
Dr Afriyie hinted that the National Youth Authority would soon roll out a programme for the review of the National Youth policy to meet the current challenges.
“This would capture and re-prioritize youth development, as it ensures increased economic empowerment, civic engagement and participation, sexual reproduction health and a special focus on marginalised and disadvantaged youth”.
The regional Minister encouraged them to take advantage of the various programmes that have been rolled out by the government by linking up with the appropriate government agencies, and called on stakeholders in youth development to play key roles in ensuring that the youth realised their aspirations for greater success and prosperity.
Mr Emmanuel Papa Assan, Regional Director of the NYA said, as the country celebrates Youth Day, it was important to reflect on the high unemployment levels and education challenges faced by the youth.
Mr Assan noted that Africa’s youth population continent wide, was set to double by 2050, and that, approximately 66 per cent of young people were unemployed due to the lack of jobs in the job market because of mismatch of skills and demand.
He pointed out that without more deliberate and concerted efforts to address the challenges faced by youth today, such as unemployment and the lack of meaningful economy opportunities which ranks high, Africa faces the real risk of frustration from the youth leading to instability and civil conflicts.
“The youth day should therefore remind us all to take action now to put in place conditions for our youth to develop into skilled entrepreneurs and innovators, as well as provide meaningful employment and economic opportunities for them”.
He lauded the previous parliament for passing the NYA Act of 2016, which allows the Authority to roll out some specific interventions through the National Action Plan to enhance the employability and entrepreneurial activities for young people.
He mentioned some of the interventions as, Promoting innovative approaches for employment oriented Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) and promoting decent rural youth employment and entrepreneurship in agriculture and agribusiness.
Mr Assan asked the youth to send positive signals to their peers to reposition themselves to meet the various opportunities in the offing, adding ” let’s us raise our voices for quality education to address our developmental needs “.
The participants were taken through job avenues and opportunities available to seek self-employment.
Source: GNA