The chief executive officer of the Youth Employment Agency, Kofi Baah Agyepong has said 21,000 young people have so far applied for the newly introduced “Youth in Garment and Textiles” module.
The roll out of the new module follows conclusion of extensive discussions and inspection of facilities of the players in the garments and apparel industry that are collaborating with the agency to train prospective unemployed youth to acquire the relevant skills to become professional tailors and dressmakers.
Speaking at the official launch of the module at the Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi on Monday (14 August), Agyepong said the YEA will introduce other modules aimed at creating 31,000 jobs by the end of the year.
“It may interest you to know that 21,000 young people have applied to be enrolled on the programme, which is highly remarkable. This is a clear indication that the youth are ready to be equipped and empowered once we create opportunities for them,” he said.
“Although you can see ice on my face, there is fire running through my veins. I have sleepless nights thinking about that young mother hawking in the scorching heat with a baby at her back and sometimes one on the side. I wake up every day thinking about that frustrated young graduate wasting his talent as a hawker around the market in Kejetia all because of “nokofio” (Something small). Our youth are resorting to hard drugs and ending up as hardened criminals and call girls because there are no jobs.”
“We can’t fail them. For how long are we going to watch on for the future generation to waste their talents. As I mentioned earlier, the YEA has surpassed its set targets and is poised to introduce other innovative ideas by creating additional 31,600 job opportunities for the youth of Ghana in 2023. But we cannot do this without additional funding,” Agyepong said.
