Ministry of Youth and Sports mandates NYEP to engage 23,000 youth

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has mandated the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to engage 23,000 youth under the phase two of its entrepreneurial module.

The Programme has already provided 7,000 jobs for the youth who had been trained throughout the country under the leadership of 2,000 trainers.

Mr Faisal Webre Keliou, Coordinator of Asongtaba Cottage Industry and Exchange Programme (ACI-EP) made this known during the presentation of 593 sewing machines and its accessories to beneficiaries at a passing out ceremony in Wa.

The beneficiaries had been trained under the dressmaking module of the programme.

Mr Keliou said about 6,000 trainers would be engaged to train the 23,000 youth to create 30,000 immediate and real jobs for the youth to help improve their livelihoods.

He said instead of 7,000 youth, who were expected to be trained under the first phase of the programme, the NYEP had rather trained 7, 959 nationwide.

He said other the entrepreneurial modules for the region would be rolled out soon adding that the ACI-EP that had been partnering the NYEP was determined to transform the youth to be come more resourceful.

Mr Keliou said the NYEP had identified the youth as a massive resource which must be transformed to facilitate the economic transformation of the country.

Naa Seidu Braimah, Guli Naa and a member of the Council of State, who chaired the function, advised the beneficiaries to use the skills that they had acquired to empower themselves economically and serve as agents of change to help reduce poverty.

You should also support the government to build a formidable economic foundation through the “Better Ghana” agenda for the country irrespective of their political and ethnic considerations, he said.

Alhaji Issahaque Salia, Upper West Regional Minister, in a keynote address said government was aware of the social challenges that the youth were facing hence the provision of employable skills training and materials to empower them to address those challenges.

He asked the youth to take advantage of government’s interventions to improve their living conditions and contribute to national development.

“Let each of you practice his or her chosen vocation or trade with professionalism”, Alhaji Salia advised.

In a related development, the first batch of 593 beneficiaries under the Dress Making Module of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) has been presented with sewing machines with accessories to empower them to establish their own businesses.

The machines, whose value was not disclosed, were provided by the NYEP in collaboration with the Asongtaba Youth in Trades and Vocations Module of the Programme at a passing out ceremony at Wa on Wednesday.

Mr. Saani Nurudeen, Upper West Regional Coordinator the NYEP, who presented the items to Alhaji Issahaque Salia, Upper West Regional Minister, said the Wa Municipality would receive 116 of the machines.

The Wa East and Wa West Districts would be provided with 57 and 60 while Nadowli and Jirapa Districts would also receive 63 and 60 machines respectively.

The Lawra District would receive 59, Lambussie/Karni District – 58, Sissala East District – 58 and Sissala West – 62 machines.

Mr. Nurudeen said the second batch of 2,250 trainees under the programme had started and appealed to them to be more serious with their training.

They should also inform others in their communities who had not yet joined the Module to do so to enable the government to accomplish its campaign promises.

Mr. Nurudeen said the Programme had registered tremendous growth in all the Modules in the region under the “Better Ghana” Agenda initiated by the Government.

Employment figures under the programme had increased with the Waste and Sanitation Modules registering 1,530 youth.

Mr. Nurudeen said the Health Extension Workers Module, which hitherto registered only 474 youth had now increased to 1,126.

The Community Protection Assistants and Community Education Teaching Assistants Modules also increased from 33 to 112 and 1,473 to 1,900 youths, respectively.

He said other Modules, which had been introduced for the first time, included the Prison Protection Assistants, recruiting 51, Dressmaking enrolling 593, Youth in Film Industry engaging 22, and Hairdressing employing 1,000 youth.

The Youth in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Module had registered 30 and more were expected to enrol.

Mr. Nurudeen said about youth were expected to register at the Tumu, Jirapa and Lambussie Training centres under the ICT Programme.

The Youth in Road Maintenance Module would be introduced soon.

He advised the beneficiaries of the programme to work harder than before to help improve their livelihoods and to contribute meaningfully to national development.

Source: GNA