Mr Prem Shukla, Country Director of Plan Ghana, has said that youth empowerment was critical to the development of Ghana and that urgent measures needed to be put in place to tackle the challenges of the youth.

“Youth are the main source of human capital and key players for the socio-cultural, economic and political development,” he said.

Based on this, his outfit and the GRATIS Foundation with assistance from the Korean government have inaugurated a Hyundai-KOICA GRATIS Dream Centre which is aimed at training unemployed youth in the state-of-the-art auto-mechanic technology to become sought-after employees or employers in a competitive auto-mechanic market.

A financial support of US$ 1,012,785 from Hyundai Motors and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) made it possible.

The centre seeks to equip the unemployed to be able to manufacture agro-processing equipment to help eliminate the drudgery involved in traditional production processes, reducing post-harvest losses and increasing productivity and incomes.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony in Koforidua, Mr Shukla expressed worry about youth migration from the rural areas to cities in search of greener pastures but end up as street hawkers or resort to petty crimes because they cannot find a job or do not have the requisite education and skills for the jobs available.

He said it was time youth unemployment was reduced to enable the youth break free from the poverty cycle, hence the establishment of the youth auto-mechanic centre in Koforidua. “Students are trained so that after graduation, they will be able to set up their own auto-mechanic workshops or partner with others to do so,” he said.

Mr Emmanuel Asiedu, Chief Executive Officer of GRATIS, said the strong theoretical aspect of the course would qualify students to enter polytechnics, universities or any institution of higher learning if they wish to continue their studies.

This is because the centre, in the meantime, runs a three-year course in automotive engineering which will lead to the award of COTVET Certificate II.

The youth would also be able to produce sanitation equipment such as garbage push trucks, open and closed solid waste containers and dustbins.

Mr Asiedu also revealed plans to soon establish a University of Applied Technology with the aim of bridging the gap between the academia and the industry to produce engineers and technicians trained academically and practically to enhance Ghana’s workforce.

Mr Victor Smith, the Eastern Regional Care-taker Minister, lauded the initiative and expressed appreciation to the collaborative forces for helping government to tackle the unemployment situation in the country.