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The National Director of Plan International Ghana, Mr. Solomon Tesfamariam
The National Director of Plan International Ghana, Mr. Solomon Tesfamariam, has highlighted the need for Ghana to pay more attention to technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as a means to prepare the country’s youth for decent employment in the next years.
According to him, TVET is a powerful vehicle for equipping young people with job and entrepreneurial skills.
In his opinion, “in compliance with Goal 8 of the SDGs, which requires decent economic growth, there is a need for a rapid paradigm shift towards transformative training systems to develop the knowledge, skills and creativity necessary to ensure the our future to young people so that they can acquire decent jobs to support themselves, their families and Ghana as a whole. “
Tesfamariam made the call during the national launch of the Pathway for Sustainable Employment for Women and Youth (PASEWAY) project in Accra on Tuesday, September 29, 2020.
Plan International Ghana, in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, is implementing the PASEWAY project, which seeks to provide opportunities for skills development and decent youth employment.
Some of the dignitaries at the launch
Other project partners are Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES) Ghana, the Women’s Vocational Training Foundation (VTF) and the Regional Advisory Information Network System (RAINS), an NGO based in Tamale.
The PASEWAY project is being implemented in the construction industry in the Greater Accra and North regions and in the hospitality sector in the Ashanti region with various interventions to provide 4,050 young people with the skills to find employment or establish their own business.
Mr Tesfamariam noted that “despite the fact that vocational training and skills development are increasingly recognized as engines of economic and social development, especially among young people, it still faces some challenges,” adding “The main it is the fact that: technical and professional training suffers from low esteem, little appreciation and unattractiveness “.
He said young people needed to be trained with skills and work ethic that meet market requirements.
She said that the PASEWAY project had been introduced to provide well thought out sustainable solutions to encourage young people, particularly young women, to engage in all relevant trades.
“The first is that we need a special focus on young women. Women entrepreneurs have a great impact around the world, contributing to the growth and well-being of their societies,” said Tesfamariam.
He expressed concern that “here in Ghana, there is still a bias towards boys, as most programs have long been offered in traditionally male-dominated trades. Therefore, this project will contribute to promoting the participation of young women in all relevant trades. “
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Employment and Industrial Relations, Mr. Ignatious Baffour Awuah, expressed the hope that the PASEWAY project will contribute to reducing the country’s unemployment burden.
He said that available data obtained from the Ghana Statistical Service showed that both the public and private sectors would not be able to generate jobs in the amount needed to absorb the country’s growing workforce, hence the need for young people to venture out. in skills training that enable them to become self-employed.
He noted that a report released by the Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research in March 2017, revealed that only 10 percent of graduates found work within a year of completing their national service.
Therefore, Mr. Baffour Awuah has encouraged project beneficiaries to take their training seriously so that they can start their own businesses.
A representative from YES Ghana, Mr. Eric Saforo, said that to ensure the smooth implementation of the project, his team has established a skills center with all necessary facilities such as a well-stocked library, training space, service office training and cyber café to provide youth with space to learn and research job opportunities.
For his part, the Deputy Executive Director, in charge of Programs and Operations at the National Youth Authority, Mr. Nelson Owusu-Ansah, expressed his joy at the initiative and pledged NYA’s support for the implementation of PASEWAY.
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