Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, NBSSI boss
The Apprenticeship to Entrepreneurial component of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI)/Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works initiative has aided about 2,919 youth in the country acquire new skills that would help improve their sources of livelihood.
With women forming about 70 per cent of beneficiaries, the component focuses on using apprenticeship training to equip 12,000 unemployed youth with the necessary knowledge and skills to attain employment or become entrepreneurs.
This is to be achieved through learning from approved NBSSI Skilled Craft Persons (SCP) or artisans and who would support trainees to write National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) certification examinations.
Upon completion, some beneficiaries would be supported with start-up kits to start their businesses while others would be linked to salaried work.
Speaking in an interview, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the Executive Director of NBSSI which is being transitioned into the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), noted that 10,000 youth were expected to graduate with arrangements being made for 6,000 to be supported with start-up kits for business and some 2,000 to be linked to salaried work.
Of the 2,919 youth that had benefited from the programme, she indicated that 1,316 youth had entrepreneurial training, where some 1,603 received top-up training in soap making/detergent, beads making, make-up and manicure and pedicure.
“Out of this number, a total of 2,661 have been supported with start-up kits to start their own businesses,” she added.
In all, 1,416 opted for soap/detergent making, 461 for dressmaking, 305 for hairdressing and 143 for makeup.
The rest ventured into areas of General Electricals, Welding and Fabrication, Baking and Confectionery, Auto Electricians, Phone Repairs, Barbering, Leather Works, Bead Making as well as Manicure and Pedicure.
The NBSSI/Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works initiative is aimed at equipping 39,000 young women and men with employable skills from 2019 to 2022.
This will be achieved through three main components that include Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE), Apprenticeship to Entrepreneurship (A2E) and MSME Business Acceleration (MBA).
By Issah Mohammed