The future growth and development of Ghana is hinged on the successful implementation of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), President Nana Akufo-Addo has stated.
The President, who was addressing an enthusiastic crowd of young graduates at the passing out ceremony for 100,000 graduates under NABCO, at the independence square in Accra yesterday, said the initiative would, among others, address the very issue that keeps graduates out of the labour market, in spite of their educational qualifications.
“In NABCO, we have planted the seeds of the growth and future of our country. I am in no doubt, whatsoever, that NABCO will succeed,” the President noted.
The Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) programme is a government initiative to address graduate unemployment to solve social problems. The 100,000 NABCO trainees will be deployed in seven critical aspects of our economy, such as education, revenue mobilization, agriculture, health, governance, digitisation and the private sector.
The President was optimistic that the programme would go a long way to assist in the realisation of Government’s vision of “an educated population, an industrialised, robust and well-managed economy, the delivery of good governance, and, for the sustenance of all these, a reliable, skilled and efficient workforce”.
Additionally, the President explained that the scheme has well-constructed and clearly defined exit routes which would either retain beneficiaries in the public service or be self-sufficient with entrepreneurial skills.
“Our public services and institutions, having benefitted from the services of NABCO trainees over the three-year period, will, naturally, have opportunities that allow the retention of trainees, who have justified their value. Another pathway is the building of an entrepreneurial base among the trainees”, the President stressed.
Under the entrepreneurial skill development scheme of the programme, it is envisaged that some five hundred business leaders would be trained to provide mentorship for another 500 NABCO trainees under the Enterprise Ghana module.
Additionally, a dedicated fund, amounting to the equivalent of their third-year allowances, is to be made available for them to start their co-operative ventures while an equivalent matching fund will be sourced from a private investor to complement the GH¢4.5 million fund.
The President however admonished the beneficiaries of the programme, to give a good account of the huge investment government is making towards the implementation of the programme.
“NABCO trainees must bear in mind that Government is investing some GH¢3 billion of taxpayer’s money into this programme. Your monthly stipend of 700 Ghana cedis is not free money, and you must earn every pesewa of it through hard work and dedication, which I am confident you will do”.
He also admonished the trainees to be dutiful and productive in their areas of endeavour.
“I urge you to demonstrate, on a daily basis, that you value knowledge as a basis for effective performance and productivity. You must show your professional credentials through timeliness and punctuality, and, above all, live beyond reproach so you can discharge your responsibilities with efficiency, so that all, at the end of the day, can vouch for your integrity. Your performance will be monitored through an innovate mobile application, which will be deployed soon”.
The President paid glowing tribute to his Vice, Dr Alhaji Dr MahamuduBawumia for a successful implementation of the programme.
“I cannot conclude these brief remarks without paying tribute to the invaluable contribution to the take-off of this programme by my brilliant Vice-President, Alhaji Dr MahamuduBawumia, and his hardworking team, whose dedication and leadership, from the time of conception through to implementation, has led us to this point”, Nana Akufo-Addo added.
The President thus charged the Ghanaian public to give the trainees all the needed support to help reap the full benefit of the programme and the attendant transformation it would bring to the development of communities and the nation as a whole.
“To the Ghanaian people, you will feel the presence and contribution of these one hundred thousand (100,000) NABCO trainees in your towns and villages, your constituencies and districts, and in critical sectors of the economy. Work with them, and believe that, together, we can build a progressive and prosperous nation, the equal of any on the face of the planet”.
The Chief Executive of NABCO, AnyarIbrahim, giving an update of the process indicated that, so far, the programme has received 93,382 confirmations of acceptance from a total of 99,811 selected applicants.
The successful applicants, he said, would go through institutional placement immediately after their commissioning.
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