The Ghanaian German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (GGC) has launched a project dubbed: “Community Works Training and Start-up Support” to provide skills and self-employment for 150 young people in five communities in the Bono Region.

The beneficiaries, which include unemployed youth and returning migrants, will be trained in readily available community and district demand-driven services such as Tiling, Masonry, Plumbing, Tailoring, Dressmaking, Hairdressing, and Cosmetology amongst others.

The beneficiaries and the vocational areas have been selected through a comprehensive stakeholder engagement and training needs analysis, and the GCC will support the trainees to form cooperatives to help promote their services better.

The 48,000.00 Euro project, which is funded by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), is aimed at reducing youth unemployment by providing self-employment opportunities for beneficiaries in Nsoatre, Odumasi, Chiraa, Fiapre and Kwasibourkrom in the Jaman South Municipality.

The GGC, through this, will provide alternatives to irregular migration whilst at the same time support the successful socio-economic reintegration of returning migrants into their host societies.

The GGC, which is implemented by GIZ Ghana, is part of the German Development Cooperation with Ghana, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Mr Kwaku Yeboah, a Senior Advisor at GGC, who spoke during the launch of the project at Fiapre, said lack of employment opportunities for the youth was widely cited as a major contributory factor to their decision to leave their families and friends in search of opportunities abroad.

He added that “In partnership with other German Cooperation projects such as the Programme for Sustainable Economic Development under the Migration and Employment Promotion Component, the GGC has provided 34,665 opportunities (direct employment, entrepreneurship support, counselling among others) to the Ghanaian youth and diverse reintegration support schemes for returning migrants.”

Through its collaboration with the Ministry for Employment and Labour Relations and its Labour Department, the GGC provides individual counseling services and advice for both returning migrants and the local population in Ghana, economic and social integration and reintegration support, information on vocational and educational prospects, and employment opportunities including entrepreneurship (self-employment).

Also, the GGC advises on regular migration, raises awareness on the challenges of irregular migration, whilst offering capacity building support for the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.