Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has described the successful training of thousands of Ghanaian youth under the first phase of the Youth Employment Agency’s Skills Training Programme as concrete evidence of the NPP Government’s commitment to providing opportunities for the youth to acquire employable skills for life.

The training of these 10,000 young people in Carpentry,  Beauty Care, Hairdressing, Plumbing, Auto Mechanics, Plaster of Paris (POP), Painting, Steel Works and Welding, and Glazing (Glass Works) – who received allowances during their training and have also received start-up equipment –  comes on the heels of the recent training of thousands of ladies under the Kayayei Empowerment programme, as well as formal training under the Free Technical Vocational Training (FTVET) and digital training offered by facilities such as the Accra Digital Centre.

Speaking at the passing out ceremony of the 10,000 YEA-trained artisans at Techiman in the Bono East Region on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 Dr Bawumia reiterated the NPP Government’s appreciation of the key role played by the youth in national development, and envisioned the creation of even more training and job opportunities under the ongoing digitalization agenda.

“Some few years ago, I was privileged to be the Guest Speaker at Legon when YEA first launched the Job Centre together with the Artisan Directory, a skill development program designed to build the capacity of artisans and to train new ones to meet current global requirements of the artisanal industry,” he said. 

According to him, “Today, I am happy to be part of this ceremony not because I was present at the birth of this Great initiative in October, 2019 but largely because of the anticipated socio- economic and cyclical impact of these new artisans to the growth and development of Ghana, the Ecowas Sub Region, Africa and the world as a whole.”

“This pool of talented artisans in rows before us this morning, presents varying opportunities for us to expand and develop the sector for the growth of our nation. Ladies and Gentlemen, the artisanal industry is the oldest livelihood job in Ghana for centuries and still remains the powerful Economic engine to absorb more people seeking sustainable job opportunities,” he emphasized.

“Barely three months ago, I joined YEA in a Grand event in Accra to launch the Kayayei Empowerment programme in Madina. I am happy to state that thousands of young women through that Programme have graduated with various skilled jobs in Detergent and Soap Making, Beading and Jewelry, Makeup Artistry, Pedicure and Manicure, Baking and Decoration. More Kayayei are currently undergoing training in Madina and Ashaiman and would soon be graduating into the world of work,” he announced.

Dr Bawumia commended the leadership of the Youth Employment Programme for being abreast with the changing dynamics of the work environment, setting up a Job Centre to link applicants with jobs and creating a soon-to-be launched App to provide the location and contact of the 10,000 graduates across the country to make accessing their services easier.

According to him,“Since we assumed office in 2017, the NPP Government had in the priority of things embarked on the digitalization agenda to cover some if not all key sectors of the economy. Indeed, leveraging on the technological potentials of Ghana in the digital marketing space, YEA is gradually becoming digitally inclined and had taken several steps forward in providing innovative solutions to the modern-day problems affecting the artisanal landscape in Ghana.”

“YEA has been very instrumental in the Agenda for Jobs of the NPP Government through roll outs of traditional modules, entrepreneurial modules and artisanal modules. The YEA Job Centre also connects job seekers to employers online and had facilitated the recruitment of thousands of young men and women into the private sector and NGO jobs in the country. Today, YEA has broadened its partnership with the private sector under the Business and Employment Assistant Programme and has provided human resource assistance to many certified small and medium scale enterprises across the country,” he said.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is also the Presidential Candidate of the NPP for the 2024 elections, challenged the fresh graduates to continually seek knowledge and further skills, saying “Your training comes with a prize- a prize of distinguishing yourselves as credible Artisans not only in molding products and providing services to your clients but credibility which hinges on character, hard work and transparency in your career journey.

He said, “As you transition into the world of work, never feel secured and technically efficient because you have been certified to work as an Aluminum Fabricator or Carpenter but aspire to take opportunities to build your capacities.”

The Chief Executive Officer of the YEA, Kofi Baah Agyapong, commended the newly-trained youth for their dedication and perseverance, especially those from under-privileged backgrounds, and charged them to be role models worth emulating.

“I am highly elated to see so many happy faces here today, given where many of you have come from and the challenges you have faced. I urge you to grab this opportunity to be outstanding citizens with both hands and run with it. Being the first batch, I ask that you practice your newly-acquired skills in a manner that would encourage Ghanaians to patronize your services and attract many more youth to acquire employable skills,” he concluded.