Over 80 pupils drawn from six basic schools in the Ho Municipality have undergone a two-week skills training in bead making, fine art painting and batik tie and dye.

The training was organised by Centre for National Culture (CNC) aimed at equipping the children with employment skills so they could start their lives from the scratch.

It is also to prepare and empower them as the future workforce of the country towards poverty eradication.

Mrs Rosemond Amuzu, Acting Director, Centre for National Culture, Volta region, at a graduation ceremony of the pupils said the training was also aimed at ensuring that the pupils used the long vacation period judiciously.

She said acquisition of knowledge through skills training and education was paramount for both individual and societal growth and development and therefore urged the youth to take advantage of skills training opportunities to enhance their lots.

Mrs Amuzu said the CNC considered skills training and nurturing of youth as an essential tool for accelerated socioeconomic development.

She said the youth could contribute meaningfully to the development of the country only when they were given the needed skills training to earn a living and enhance their livelihoods.

Mrs Amuzu said the Centre would soon replicate same programme in other districts in the Region to enable the youth within those districts also benefit from it, saying “ the skills training has come to stay and will take place every long vacation."

She said though the Centre was desirous to engage the pupils in more skills training, lack of resources and facilitators had limited it to bead making, batik tie and dye and fine art painting and appealed to corporate and benevolent organisations for support.

Mrs Amuzu urged the parents to offer the necessary support to the children so that the skills acquired at the training could be maintained for multiple streams of income.

Some beneficiary students who spoke to Ghana News Agency expressed their gratitude to the Centre for the initiative.

They said the skills acquired would help them make good use of the vacation and support their families.

The programme was on the theme, “lifting our society out of poverty through creative skills."