One of the best economic empowerment and job intervention programs introduced by the ruling NPP government to tackle graduate unemployment is the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO).

As it stands, the NABCO initiative remains the best tool for economic empowerment presenting a ready-market skill for job acquisition by unemployed graduates.

It is in this vein that Dr. Anyars Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is calling for a more enhanced and well strengthened NABCO brand to boost the chances of trainee beneficiaries who exit their terms of training.

Dr. Ibrahim Anyars has further admonished NABCO trainees to eschew all tendencies that will bring the name of the organization into disrepute and make the programme unattractive to employers and investors.

Dr Ibrahim was speaking during a capacity building training programme held in Wa for the 2,805 beneficiaries of the programme in the Upper West Region.

“If you are a NABCO trainee and you don’t go to work or you like absenting yourself from work among others, what you are telling employers is that when they see NABCO on your CV they should not take you serious”, he said.

“In this case, you are not only damaging yourself but also the brand of the organization”, he said, stressing that the programme was focused on building a competent workforce for the country.

Dr Ibrahim said for a 36-month programme, they thought it wise to now focus on the exit plan for trainees such that they would be empowered to exit and pursue their own career paths.

He said the government was investing about GH¢70 million on a monthly basis to empower these unemployed youth for the job market or for them to become entrepreneurs themselves.

He said through the programme, the government is not only retraining unemployed youth to contribute to the development of their own local communities but also boosting the local economy through the payment of allowances.

Mr Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, said unemployment is a security threat to the nation, hence the government’s decision to create short term measures to contain the situation while it worked to expand the economy for more permanent jobs to be created.

He commended the CEO of NABCO for putting in place a proper exit plan for the trainees and appealed to them to take the training seriously such that they could exit and become self- dependent without becoming a liability to the nation.

Mr Issahaku said the government is determined to make the private sector the engine of growth because it is impossible for the government alone to employ all citizens as it was in every part of the world.

Mr Umar Nuhu, the Regional NABCO Coordinator, said NABCO was a ‘learn and work’ scheme and urged trainees to take their learning seriously so that they could fit easily into the job market after exiting.

Master Michael Kogo, a NABCO Trainee in the Nadowli-Kaleo District, said he was almost at the verge of migrating to the south when the programme was introduced, adding that he was now saving money to continue his education after exiting the programme.

Khadijah Korica, another trainee, said since joining the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) through NABCO she has learned and contributed a lot to the organization meeting its revenue targets and expressed the hope that she would be maintained at the end of the programme.

She expressed gratitude to the government for introducing the programme which has saved beneficiaries from the numerous family and societal pressures.