Local Enterprise and Skills Development Program (LESDEP), a unique model for community development in Ghana, has been launched by President Mills in Tamale today.

LESDEP is a bold initiative that focuses on training the unemployed people to acquire viable skills that will eventually make them self employed with specialized hands-on training, within the shortest possible time in their localities. Speaking at the launch of the programme, the National Programs Manager of LESDEP, Mr. Adem Gariba, said, the initiative is to serve as an employment creation avenue through the acquisition of trade, vocational and entrepreneurial skills.

“It would also serve as a means of enhancing the socio-economic standards of the youth in the country…support SMEs to develop and play active roles in development programmes such as SADA, Oil and gas industry and also develop the informal sector as a means of contributing towards national development.” Programme desk, he said, has been set up at all MMDAs to register interested unemployed persons, especially the youth unto the programme.

“Our vision is to train and equip 20,000 unemployed people within the 170 Metropolitan/ Municipal/Districts in the country by 2012,” he stated.

The Programme Manager outlined some of the benefits of LESDEP as;

· infrastructure for a world- class training facility has been balanced with an easy-to-understand training module

· The training is made available at no cost or at nominal costs to the participants

· State-of-the-art and easy to use trade machines have been lined up, which are pertinent to the socio-economic scenario of Ghana.

· The profitability of all ventures promoted is guaranteed as the trade machines are those, which are absolutely needed for the development of Ghana LESDEP’s Programs Manager said, since it is the vision of the government to create 10,000 jobs annually through LESDEP, “am happy to announce that so far 6,000 people have been enrolled….Additional 4,000 shall be recruited before the end of this year-2011.”

LESDEP is a private initiative registered under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.