Government to promote aggressive youth apprenticeship training

Kumasi, June 8, GNA – Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga, has pledged the government’s determination to tackle head-on the growing unemployment and bring hope to the youth.

He said the National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP), an intervention, under the Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training (COTVET) is meant to help achieve that goal.

NAP links the youth with craftsmen for apprenticeship training.

Mr Ayariga, who was speaking at the launch of the programme in Kumasi, said the government would pay stipend to the master craftsmen while the trainees are provided with tools relevant to their chosen trades and monthly allowance to take care of some basic expenses.

It is targeting dropouts and other unemployed young people.

He said he had no doubt that the success of the programme would assist many otherwise unemployed youth to acquire skills to become economically self-supporting.

Mr Ayariga said the government was giving priority to technical and vocational education.

He presented tools to 340 people selected from nine districts in the Ashanti Region for the apprenticeship training.

They are from the Kumasi Metropolis, Offinso North, Ejura, New Edubiase, Offinso South, Mampong Municipality, Asante-Akim North and Ahafo-Ano South districts.

GNA