The Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS) is giving skills training to 200 youth in the Savelugu/Nanton Municipality and the West Mamprusi District to ensure they earn decent living conditions.

The beneficiaries who are being trained on vocations of their choice such as dress making, carpentry, mobile phone repairs and barbering would be given a start-up capital to start their businesses after six months to two years in training.

Mr Hadi Tijani, Executive Director of RAINS who was addressing the launch of the Vocational Skills Training in Walewale in the West Mamprusi District said the training was a component of the Childhood Regained Project that the NGO was implementing.

The project is being funded by Comic Relief of UK and implemented by RAINS, a non-governmental organisation operating in the region.

Mr Tijani said beneficiaries are 15 years and beyond and are mostly school dropouts who would otherwise have no better future without the capacity building.

He said skills acquisition is a means for economic independence for the youth.

He said the Childhood Regained Project focuses on promoting child rights, reducing child labour and exploitation in rural communities in the region.

He said the second phase of the project spans 2014 to 2017.

Mr Tijani said the project aims at empowering local community structures to effectively promote positive change that would enrich the lives of beneficiaries and their communities using a multi-dimensional approach.

Mr David Awuni, West Mamprusi District Chief Executive said vocational skills acquisition is a sustainable means of providing jobs for the teeming youth who are unemployed in the country and commended RAINS for the initiative.

He noted that the government would soon enrolled many of its youth employment models that have been withheld over a period.