Sunyani, March 14, GNA - A first batch of 81 girl school dropouts, common carriers and the needy at the weekend passed out of Bethel Vocational Training Institute in Sunyani after a three year course. Fifty-three of them were trained in dressmaking and the rest in catering, hairdressing and batik tie and dye production at the Institute, established by Bethel Prayer Ministry International. Each of the trained dressmakers was presented with a sewing machine, a certificate and 200,000 cedis as seed money while the rest received a certificate and 200,000 cedis.

The Ministry has set up a committee that would monitor and help the trainees to form co-operatives so they could access loan facilities to expand their activities.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nana Kwadwo Seinti, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister reiterated the government's determination to reduce poverty among the people by enhancing employment opportunities with a view to improving the standard of living of Ghanaians.

He said it was in the light of this that the government had committed itself to providing the youth with employable skills and that the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment had been tasked to re-focus its programmes to produce skilled and motivated workforce.

Nana Seinti said apart from establishing technical and Vocational training centres, the government, through the Committee in Action For Employment Generation, had drawn up a programme to train thousands of jobless youth in various employable skills over a three-year period. Under the same programme, entrepreneurial training is available to those wishing to establish their own businesses, the Regional Minister said, adding that the youth living and working on the streets were also being encouraged to continue their education by acquiring employable skills.

He said the government had proposed a 50 billion cedis youth development fund that would soon become operational to supplement existing programmes to help the youth to fit well in the society.

The Presiding Bishop of the Ministry, Bishop Paul Owusu Tabiri, said the graduation of the trainees was "a vision come true".

He said the Institute was established with the aim of harnessing the creative talents of the youth free of charge and that it would be expanded to cover the remaining 12 districts in the region. The Bishop added that a technical department would be established at the Institute, which would ultimately be developed into a University. Other projects undertaken by the Ministry include a 10 acre maize farm in Sunyani, yam production at Yeji, piggery, commercial poultry and a bakery, all aimed at equipping the youth with employable skills. 14 Mar. 04