The Youth Inclusive Entrepreneurial Development Initiative for Employment (YIEDIE) designed to create economic opportunities in Ghana’s construction sector for the disadvantage youth, has been launched in Accra.

It is a five- year programme would directly train 23,700 youth in technical, life and entrepreneurship skills leading to employment.

It is being implemented by the Global Communities a non-governmental organisation, in partnership with the Master Card Foundation in the United States.

Mr Ishmail Adams, Project Director of Global Communities, who made this known at the launch, said the project would apply integrated youth led market systems model, to improve the capacity of youth and service providers across the value chain.

He said the youth would also benefit from having job opportunities and higher income, adding that stakeholders such as private firms, financial service providers, training institutions and government are expected to also benefit from improved coordination and capacity.

“YIEDIE targets five of Ghana’s six largest cities, Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ashaiman and Tema, involving 113,000 people within the ages of 15 and 24 in these cities who have dropped out of school living on less than two dollars a day,” he stressed.

The project director said increased employment, including self-employment in the construction sector by targeted youth, coordination and support for a better enabling environment by construction sector stakeholders are some of the YIEDIE objectives.

He said YIEDIE would be implemented through five components such as, Youth Readiness for Employment and Entrepreneurship, Access to Financial Service Providers capable of serving youth, Access to demand-driven training and Service providers Youth Enterprise start-up recruitment by Employers and Collaboration for Positive Government policies.

Mr Adams said, Global communities would be joined “YIEDIE Consortium” comprise Youth Empowerment Synergy, Opportunities Industralisation Centre, African Aurora Business Network, HFC-Boafo Micro Finance Services Limited Boafo), Artisans Association of Ghana, which represents the construction trades to ensure the success of the project.

“Over 14,000 youth would gain technical construction skills through participating in an apprenticeship programme, enhanced with entrepreneurship, life skills, safety and health training,” he said.

Mr Adams said: “Others would receive the training that they need to become entrepreneurs in the construction sector along with support in micro enterprise start-up or growth and financial literacy education.