Baafi presenting the items to the beneficiaries
A total of 15 seamstress and tailors have benefited from the Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training (COTVET) disbursement of equipment in the New Juaben South Municipality of the Eastern Region.
Some of the items are industrial sewing machines, embroidery machines, overlock machine, cutting machine, iron, dryers, sterilizers, and others at free of charge.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COTVET, Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, at the presentation disclosed that the Ministry of Education has written proposals to Cabinet for dialogue in the bid to get a National Apprenticeship policy as suggested by the President, Nana Akufo-Addo.
According to him, the government decided that before they expand the national apprenticeship programme they need to improve on it and for that matter, about 13,000 people across the country have undergone the national apprenticeship programme for free and are of the view it successfulness have made government spent almost $200 million in Jobs and Skills since January for its expansion so people can attend for free.
Mr Asamoah has charged beneficiaries to work extremely hard and establish their own business and employ people in the quest to get rid of the unemployment rate in the country.
In furtherance, he entreated the beneficiaries to take care of the machines and make good use of them saying that in the New Juaben South constituency about 200 people will receive equipment in November.
He added that the government is doing everything possible to take technical and vocational education to the next level and in doing that there is the need to train people based on standards and has indicated that the equipment donated to them can be a starter for them to expand their business and be able to train more people and also employ more to improve on what they are doing.
He said the first phase which was a pilot they did is about a thousand people and disclosed that before the year comes to an end the president will present to over 26,000 people across the country.
NPP Parliamentary Candidate Michael Okyere Baafi, on whose efforts under the move to help the beneficiaries also said, “We are doing politics that will benefit everyone. People may think I’m doing this for votes, it may be a factor but that is not the motivation. I’m a politician of conviction and I’m doing whatever I’m convinced to do”
He has therefore charged the beneficiaries to make wise use of the machines donated to them so they can train other people.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Koforidua