Kumasi, July 8, GNA - Mr J.Y. Amankrah, a board member of the National Service Scheme, has said that the objective of the board was to train the youth in employable skills to enable them acquire skills. He said this would go a long way to address the unemployment problem among the youth in the country.

Mr Amankrah was speaking at the graduation of 25 youth after three-month training in batik, tie and dye and soap making in Kumasi on Thursday.

The training was organised by the National Service Secretariat in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment as part of the Skills Training Employment Placement (STEP) programme. Mr Amankrah the National Service Secretariat is concerned with giving vocational training to the youth to acquire employable skills.

He therefore appealed to the youth to register with the secretariat to enable them to receive vocational training and contribute to the development of the country.

Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, said the government through the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment is working hard to ensure that school dropouts and street children have access to vocational training.

This, he said, would avoid the drift of the youth from the rural areas to urban centres in search of non-existent white colour jobs. The Regional Minister appealed to them to form co-operatives to enable them to access financial support from the banks to expand their businesses.

Mr Kwesi Quainoo, Ashanti Regional Co-ordinator of the National Service Secretariat, said the training aimed at equipping the under-employed within the Kumasi metropolis to acquire vocational training skills to enable them to contribute meaningfully towards the socio-economic development of the country.

Mr Lloyd Samuel Addison, Head of the training team, urged those who passed out to avoid laziness and other negative habits and strive to work harder to enhance their living standards.

Dr Emmanuel Christian Nyarko, a retired lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) who chaired the function, described the STEP programme as laudable and viable. He therefore urged the youth to take advantage of it.