YEA creates 17,000 jobs for youth in 4 months
The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has created over 17,000 jobs over the last four months through various modules to provide entrepreneurial skills development for the youth.
These modules include Community Health Worker Programme, Prisons Office Assistants, Community Protection Assistants, the YEA Jobcentre and partnerships with the private sector, Chief Executive Officer of the YEA, Mr Kofi Baah Agyepong, said.
Mr Agyepong made this known in Kumasi on Saturday at the passing-out parade of 1,064 of the second batch of CPAs beneficiaries drawn from the Bono, Ashanti, Bono East, Ahafo and the Western North Region.
This represented the total of 5,400 who were concurrently passing-out at the various Police Training Schools in the country.
He said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government was very sensitive to the plight of Ghanaians in the face of global economic crises, and “is resolved to reducing the pressure and burden of Ghanaians through a further creation of jobs, skills acquisitions and Entrepreneurial development of the Youth.”
The CEO averred that the President charged YEA and other agencies to refocus on creating employment and improving conditions of service for employees.
According to him the Agency had already created over 17,000 jobs since his assumption as CEO and was poised to create thousands of more jobs before the close of 2023.
“Apart from rolling out the traditional modules, allowances of beneficiaries have now been increased to GH¢500.
There is also a deepened partnership with the diplomatic community and private sector to create more private sector led jobs,” he said.
Mr Agyepong also told the gathering that YEA’s new agenda also created a platform for people in the technical and artisan sector with an oncoming partnership with National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, National Vocational Training Institute, the Ghana Enterprises Agency, etc.
To the beneficiaries under the Community Protection Assistants module, the CEO advised them not to compromise on their professional integrity in the course of discharging their duties in the communities, adding that the Agency would not hesitate to endorse sanctions to weed out any CPA personnel by the GPS for infractions in the rules of their engagement.
Mr Agyepong explained that such caution was against the background of assurance by the Ghana Police Service to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Agency to give consideration and priority to CPA personnel in future recruitment into the mainstream service.
He explained that the Agency had taken the necessary steps to clear all outstanding arrears owed beneficiaries, in spite of the economic turbulence by timely release of funds, to meet the monthly stipends of the beneficiaries.
FROM TIMES REPORTER, KUMASI
