Wa, Sept. 9, GNA - The Wa Regional Technology Transfer Centre (RTTC) under the Skills and Rural Enterprise Training Programmes which started in 2000 to make unemployed people self-reliant has so far trained a total of 564 men and women in the Upper West Region. The trainees, some of who are now fully employed in their trades were trained in batik and tie and dye cloth making, beekeeping, food processing, soap, powder and pomade making.

Mr. Peter A Adasi, Regional Manager of RTTC announced these at Wa on Friday during the graduating ceremony of 106 men and women who had completed their courses in technical apprenticeship and batik/tie and dye.

He said the training programmes were in line with the Ministry of Manpower Development and employment skills training and employment Placement(STEP) as a way of imparting skills to individuals to reduce the level of poverty in society. He said since the inception of the training programmes in the region, a total 24 men and women have also been trained in metal machining, welding and fabrication while 43 were trained in batik and tie and dye. Mr. Adasi commended the government of Ghana, the European Union and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for their tremendous assistance towards the success of their programmes. Alhaji Alhassan Issahaku, deputy regional coordinating director commended them for training people to become self-reliant, which, he said, was reducing the high rate of unemployment in the country.

He advised the graduates to team up so as to attract loan and credit facilities from financial institutions in the country. Mr. James Dassah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center said there were employment opportunities for them on completion, they should aspire to attain higher levels of education to acquire better placement in their jobs.

Certificates and working tools were presented to the graduates as a gesture for their successful completion of their various courses.