The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan (NEIP) under which it will help create 10,000 Youth entrepreneurs in the country.

The objective seeks to inculcate entrepreneurial skills in the youth as well as help create sustainable jobs to end youth unemployment in the country.

According to the CEO of the Youth Employment Agency Justin Kodua Frimpong, the one (1) year partnership agreement between his outfit and the NEIP will help build the capacity of their benefiaries, equip them with robust entrepreneurial skills and position them in life to be indepent, industrious and to enjoy sustainable jobs.

Explaining further the rationale of the MoU at a ceremony prior to signing, Mr. Frimpong said, "We believe the collaboration between the YEA and the NEIP will mean taking the Youth Employment Agency to a different level whereby the youth of this country and as I've indicated those who have gone through our various models to get firsthand opportunity to go through the entrepreneurship training from NEIP/YEA then we look at how best we can even help them to venture into new life so that it will not be like people went through our models and have exited and there's no exit package for them".

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan, Mr. John Kumah averred that under the agreement, his outfit is poised to train about 10,000 beneficiaries of the YEA program including those who have exited or about to exit and even those who are currently being enrolled under the program.

According to him, the whole idea is to prepare the beneficiaries to be ready to create the jobs and to develop the business ideas that they have and to assist them to start.

"So after the training, NEIP is going to support the innovation ideas that will be selected as a result of the training and and we are going to fund them from the Presidential Business Support Fund".

"We are not just going to train them and give them money and sit back. Under this special arrangement, we are going to have up to 3 years continuous mentoring arrangement with the beneficiaries so that we can help them to grow and to scale up", he posited.

While touting the achievements of the NEIP program since its inception 2 years ago, Mr. Kumah called on the YEA to take the partnership very seriously, adding, "we are going to make sure that the young people of our country get the support, the needed business advisory services that they need in order to start their own businesses.