Wa, Aug. 4, GNA – 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.