Mohammed Adjei Sowah exchanging the MOU with Alberto Wilde
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and Global Communities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create economic opportunities in the construction industry for disadvantaged youth in the metropolis.
The programme, which falls under the Youth Inclusive Entrepreneurial Development initiative for Employment (YIEDIE) Project and in partnership with MasterCard Foundation, will help train the youth in the area of technical construction skills in order to grow and start their own businesses.
The Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mohammed Adjei Sowah, who signed the MoU on behalf of the Assembly, stressed the need for Ghanaian artisans to change their attitude towards work in order to maintain their jobs.
He said foreigners, especially those from the West African sub-region, are thriving in the construction industry because of their precision and time consciousness.
“One key objective that I believe this project seeks to address is the attitude of our artisans,” he said.
“It is because of their attitude that many of them are not able to get jobs to do, and those who get the jobs are even laid off …I see a bouquet of training business development, matching people with opportunities, mentoring them so that we have total development of our artisans.”
Mr Sowah described youth unemployment as a threat to national security, adding that the phenomenon could only be addressed through continuous training of the youth to take advantage of the opportunities available.
“As we continue to create the jobs, I believe our youth should also be trained and prepared for the jobs,” he observed.
“Government believes the private sector is the engine of growth so we create the necessary environment for the private sector to thrive. They are doing a lot of work.”
He reiterated the commitment of the Assembly to support and create the necessary environment to address youth unemployment in the city.
Alberto Wilde, Ghana Country Director for Global Communities, remarked that the YIEDIE programme is designed to apply an integrated youth-led market-systems model to improve the capacity of youth and service providers across the construction value chain in five of Ghana’s six largest cities—Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ashaiman and Tema.
He pointed out that the interventions would lead to an increase in youth employment in the construction sector.
He said the project is expected to reach at least 23,700 disadvantaged youth between the ages of 17 and 24 who have dropped out of school in these cities.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri