Stakeholders urged to support government’s job creation initiatives

Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, has asked religious leaders and key stakeholders to support the government to provide decent jobs for the youth.

He said youth unemployment had serious social repercussions while job creation ensured a stable and peaceful society.

It was therefore important for those who wanted peace and social stability to support government initiatives aimed at providing and creating job avenues for the youth in the country.

Mr Osei Mensah made the call at the launch of the Young Africa Works Partnership project in Kumasi.

The project, which is a collaborative initiative between the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and the Mastercard Foundation, aimed at creating employment opportunities for about 39,000 youth, especially women, across the country.

The project under the theme “creating dignified and sustainable work for Ghana’s young people,” targets university graduates, out of school youth, school drop-outs, as well as Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), as part of the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda of the government.

Mr Osei Mensah pointed out that the entrepreneurial project would help accelerate businesses of young people and enable women to realize their full potential.

The government, he said, had created over 100,000 jobs for the youth under NABCO and this project would further motivate the youth and boost their morale for self-employment.

Madam Kosi Yankey–Ayeh, the Executive Director of NBSSI, said the project which included innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, apprenticeship to entrepreneurship and MSME’s business acceleration, would enable the youth to unearth and strengthen their potentials while fulfilling their destinies.

Mrs Afua Gyamfua Owusu Akyiaw, Chief Executive of Royal Lamerta Hotel in Kumasi, urged all stakeholders to embrace the project to help provide jobs for the youth and keep the country industrialized