The Integrated Community Centre for Employable Skills (ICCES) at Konkoma in the Bosomtwe District, has inaugurated two projects – computer laboratory and beauty parlour, to expand its training programmes.

These were jointly funded by Italian-based Okra Association, Turing Trust- United Kingdom (UK) and the Pramso Catholic Hospital.

The chiefs and people in the community also made some financial contributions towards the projects.

Nana Anthony Boateng, Ashanti Regional ICCES Coordinator, said these were significant to efforts at helping the youth to become useful to themselves and society.

The computer laboratory, for example, would enable the trainees to acquire skills in information and communication technology (ICT) and ensure that they were not left behind by globalization.

Nana Boateng highlighted the importance of vocational and technical education, and said this was vital for developing the nation’s human resource base.

Again, it is the path to travel to bring down the rising youth unemployment.

The ICCES Coordinator said Ghana could learn from the Asian countries, where huge investment in vocational and technical education had brought immense progress and wealth.

He urged the government to give priority to this sector of education, by providing vocational and technical schools with needed infrastructure and supply of the relevant tools and equipment.

Mr. Willinson Appiah, the Centre Manager, appealed for more support by way of additional classrooms and hostels, to give decent accommodation to the trainees.

He announced plans to give free admission to fresh students to boost enrollment.