The Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (GGC) has organised a two-day capacity building workshop on entrepreneurship and financial training for young artisans in the Bono region.
This is part of the GGC’s measures to build the resilience and business strength of artisans under its “Community Works Initiative”.
The intervention’s objective is to train returning migrants and unemployed youth in the Bono Region, in readily available demand-driven services areas like Tiling, Masonry, plumbing, 3D Epoxy, tailoring, dressmaking, hairdressing, and cosmetology, and provide them with a start-up support so they can engage in entrepreneurial ventures or seek employment. The Community Works rejuvenation training will help returning migrants re-establish themselves in their communities with a focus on sustainable employment and opportunities for unemployed youth, to significantly curb irregular migration. To achieve this objective, the project targets communities with a high propensity for irregular migration in Ghana.
Head of the Ghanaian-German Centre, Benjamin Woesten, remarked that “the lack of access to employment opportunities among Ghanaian youth is widely cited as a major contributing factor to irregular migration. The need to provide alternative livelihoods for returning migrants, prospective migrants and unemployed youth has become more urgent. Alternative economic activities for these people will provide a means of survival for them to dissuade them from resorting to irregular migration. The need for community services-oriented training with the aim of rejuvenating the local economies through employment promotion to curbing irregular migration and youth unemployment among communities in the Bono Region stems from the prospect of the identified works areas being economically viable services and thus a means of livelihood for these communities.”
The training brought together 40 young artisans drawn from Nsuatre, Fiapre, Chiraa, Kwasibourkrom and Odumasi). Topics covered included Marketing vocational/technical businesses; Setting Financial Goals; Managing Money Wisely and Avoiding Debt; Understanding Savings; Managing Risks in vocational/technical skills businesses; Telephone Etiquette; Workplace Etiquette; and Customer Care. The Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR).
About GGC
The Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs and Reintegration (GGC) is part of the global project “Programme Migration for Development” (PMD), which is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR). GGC’s objective is to support Government’s effort at improving living conditions and provide opportunities to enhance job prospects, now and in the future. This entails activities to promote education, training and employment opportunities. The support is aimed not only at the local population and internally displaced people, but also at those returning home from Germany.
About GIZ
As a provider of international cooperation services for sustainable development and international education work, GIZ is dedicated to building a future worth living around the world. GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security. The diverse expertise of our federal enterprise is in demand around the globe, with the German Government, European Union institutions, the United Nations, the private sector and governments of other countries all benefiting from our services. We work with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is our main commissioning party.
Currently, GIZ promotes sustainable development in Ghana via about 50 programmes and projects. GIZ is boosting Ghana’s potential by focusing its projects on three priority areas: Responsibility for our planet – climate and energy, Training and sustainable growth for decent jobs as well as Peaceful and inclusive societies. Additionally, our portfolio extends to other areas such as environment, peace and security.
Another focus of GIZ’s work is linking business interests with development-policy goals. Most of the programmes and projects we support in Ghana have successfully brought together national and international private companies, the public sector, and civil society groups to collaborate on development initiatives.