Mr. Abdul-Mumin Issah launching the Skills development Project

 The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has launched skills development training under the European Union-funded Twin Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project (TC­SPP) being implemented in Sekondi-Ta­koradi in Ghana and Palermo in Italy.

The three-year project aims to enhance the capacity of authorities to address the challenges of urban sprawl, climate change and inadequate social safety nets for vulnerable populations within the two cities.

The launch of the TCSPP Project is also to commemorate the 2023 Europe Month Celebration in Gha­na under the theme, “Celebrating Youth and Skills” and to recognise the EU as a funding agency of TCSPP and their contributions and initiatives to support Ghanaian youth in acquiring the right skills for quality jobs.

The Metropolitan Chief Exec­utive (MCE) of STMA, Mr. Ab­dul-Mumin Issah, said that having a workforce in a society with the skills that were in demand con­tributed to sustainable growth, led to more innovation and im­proved competitiveness.

He said one of the major chal­lenges in society today was the high population of unemployed youth and its corresponding chal­lenges of crime, illicit use of drugs, and irregular migration to southern Europe through the desert and the Mediterra­nean Sea.

He said the TCSPP Skills Development programme was therefore aimed at complementing the many interventions both the central government and other stakeholders were making to address the youth unemployment situation in the metropolis and other parts of Ghana.

Mr. Issah disclosed that the pro­gramme was intended to train 350 vul­nerable groups, including unemployed women and youth, returnees and potential future migrants, in profes­sional skills in crop production, animal husbandry, aquaculture, bio-digester technology, eco-friendly oven produc­tion and plastic waste recycling.

He said the training would focus on two key areas, namely urban agricul­ture techniques and green and cli­mate-smart production technologies, adding that “the project will provide post-training assistance to well-de­serving trainees by supporting them to construct 500 bio-digester toilets and 100 eco-friendly ovens across the metropolis.

The MCE said the situation reaffirmed his long conviction that “teaching and learning employable skills” was the way forward for most unemployed people to become self-employed and employable in the competitive job market.

The Project Coordinator, Mr. Isaac Aidoo, said the project needed about 350 youth to start the skills training, but at the time of the launch, the number was not up, so he appealed to more youth to come and pick forms be­cause the training was very beneficial.

The chairperson for the launch, Nana Kofi Abuna V, who is the chief of Essi­pun, said those who had picked forms should count themselves blessed to get the opportunity.

She told the trainees to be commit­ted, determined and visionary, setting some goals ahead of their completion and working hard to get there.

She advised parents not to discour­age their children from learning skills because it was the only way to reduce unemployment in the country by mak­ing the youth more self-employed and dependent on themselves.

 From Peter Gbambila, Sekondi