Kumasi, Nov 22, GNA - Madam Patricia Appiagyei, Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, on Monday advised the youth who acquired skills not to despise them after apprenticeship and resort to petty trading. She therefore, asked the youth with employable skills to maximize them and work to fit into the merging challenges of globalisation.

"If possible create employment opportunities for other people and thereby contribute towards national growth and development," She added. Madam Appiagyei was speaking at the 12th graduation of the Ghana National Association of Hairdressers and Beauticians (GNAHB) in Kumasi. About 350 apprentice hairdressers and beauticians passed out about three years training in hairdressing and beauty care.

In a speech read on her behalf, Madam Appiagyei, who is also the Acting Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, said the role of hairdressers and beauticians was important and vital in the socio-economic development of the country because most women depended on them before attending social functions.

She said in the informal sector, master craftsmen and women had contributed to job creation by imparting skills to many children. "It is for this reason that the beauty industry is considered as a noble profession which you should be proud of. You contribute in no small way to the dress code of the nation because no woman no matter the gorgeous garment she puts on will appear perfectly dressed without a matching hairdo," She said.

Madam Appaigyei therefore, urged the graduands to take their profession seriously and impart the knowledge acquired to the youth by creating employment awareness among them.

Miss Alice Botchway, Ashanti Regional Director of the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD), asked the graduands to be more committed to their work and introduce new styles to be abreast with modern trends in fashion.

She asked them to develop good and friendly customer relations to attract more customers who could support their small businesses to flourish.

Miss Hannah Badu, Ashanti Regional President of the association, said for the past 12 years, the association had trained more than 6,500 hairdressers and beauticians. She said more would be trained as their contribution towards reduction in unemployment in the country.