Ga Central launches Youth Apprenticeship Support Programme

The Ga Central Municipal Assembly has distributed birds (Nkoko Nkitikiti) to 200 beneficiaries and enrolled 60 apprentices as part of the Youth Apprenticeship and Mastercraft Support programme.  

Each of the 200 beneficiaries of the Nkoko Nkitikiti initiative received more than 50 birds as part of the Flagship Agriculture Initiative’s poultry intervention.

The distribution formed part of the government’s reset agenda, focused on rebuilding the economy, strengthening local production, creating jobs, and restoring hope to the people through the Youth Apprenticeship and Mastercraft Support Programme, which was launched in the municipality.

The Youth Apprenticeship and Mastercraft Support programme, which targets young people between the ages of 18 and 35, officially took off with 60 apprentices enrolled in the municipality for six months.

While each Mastercraft person received GH¢4,000 to expand and strengthen their businesses, each apprentice will receive a GH¢300 monthly stipend for six months to support their skills training.

Items including sewing machines and hairdressing equipment were presented to the mastercraft persons at a ceremony held at the municipal assembly’s forecourt to mark the beginning of the programme aimed at tackling youth unemployment, strengthening vocational and technical skills development, empowering artisans and small businesses, promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance and also reducing social vulnerability among the youth, among others.

Balanced economy

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Emmanuel Addotey Allotey, who presented the items to the beneficiaries, said the government investing in agriculture and skills development at the same time was building a balanced local economy that produced both food and skilled professionals, saying“when farmers thrive, the economy grows and when artisans expand, jobs are created”.

He assured all beneficiaries of the Nkoko Nkitikiti birds that the municipal veterinary officers of the Ministry of Agriculture were available to provide continuous technical assistance and encouraged them to contact the officers whenever the need arose, stressing, “early consultation and professional guidance will protect your investment and ensure sustainability”.

He urged all poultry farmers, master craftsmen, and apprentices to take the opportunities seriously, since they were capital investments.

The Greater Accra Regional Director of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Mathias Blay, said many applications were received, but only 60 could be accommodated as the first cohort and therefore cautioned the apprentices not to choose days for learning the apprenticeship.

The Coordinator for the National Apprenticeship Programme for the Greater Accra Region, Jones Klutse, who presented the equipment to the master craft persons, said the equipment was intended for skills training, not for the master craft persons.

He said at the end of the six months of training, the apprentices would be given their equipment, stressing, ‘’these ones are for their training.    

A representative of the mastercraft persons, Jerry Lutterodt, on behalf of his colleagues, assured the assembly that they were ready to impart the skills to the apprentices and stressed the need for apprentices to be serious when the programme began.