So I was going through news articles online for skills related programs in Ghana and did chance on this article I came across on the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Program (NEIP) website that I thought to share. It is important to note that as a brief introduction of who NEIP is, I can say that they are a Government of Ghana program under the Ministry of Business Development that organises programs, assistance and trainings for businesses that may be start-ups or small-scale that need support being established. You can read more about them from their website https://www.neip.gov.gh
According to the site as at the end of the third quarter of 2023, there was a recorded unemployment rate averaging at 14.7% having the rate for females as compared to 2023 to have widened.
To help reduce unemployment in the country, NEIP is proposing the skills for job project to provide practical skills in some trade areas to help provide jobs for about Six Hundred Thousand (600,000) youth and to help reduce rural urban migration and as well as address the jobs and skills challenges faced by the youth of Ghana especially in the rural and peri urban areas.
The Skills for Jobs (S4J) Project is a deliberate Jobs and Skills intervention expected to train about 300,000 youth to provide them with lifelong Skills to enhance their employability and further ensure sustainable livelihood across the country. The training is expected to take place across all the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.
WHY THIS PROJECT:
- To provide practical vocational and technical skills for the youth.
- To provide employment opportunities for the teeming youth.
- An income generation avenue for new businesses.
ACTION PLAN:
- Mobilize the beneficiaries through the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.
- Identify, register and engage trainers for various skills area for all MMDA’s.
- Provide training for beneficiaries.
- Provide logistical support for training.
- Support beneficiaries with regulatory, compliance and quality assurance support in partnership with regulatory agencies.
- Provide starter-packs for selected beneficiaries.
- Monitoring and Evaluation of the project to assess impact.
KEY DELIVERABLES:
- Partnership framework between NEIP and the Ministry of Finance.
- Develop manuals for skills training schedule for the project.
- Orientation organized for trainers.
- 300,000 beneficiaries trained nation-wide.
- Presentation of certificate to all beneficiaries.
- Presentation of starter-packs to selected beneficiaries.
- Training Implementation and Monitoring.
For the past seven and a half years, our initiatives have been providing training, funding, capacity building, mentoring, monitoring and access to market linkages to entrepreneurs across the country.
We are clear in our mission to support the building of Ghana as an Entrepreneurial Nation. Skills development is integral to this vision.
NEIP intends to rolls out the SKILLS FOR JOBS initiative to provide targeted skills training to One Hundred and Fifty Thousand (150,000) prospective entrepreneurs across the 276 constituencies in Ghana preparing them for specific trade and occupations in areas such as soap and detergent making, beading and jewelry, baking, décor, makeup artistry, etc. The goal is to support skills development and job creation among the youth, empowering them to succeed, and reducing their risk of employment. Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) jobs are expected to be created through this initiative.