By
Adu-Gyamfi Jacqueline / Rihana Adam, GNA
Accra, Nov. 14, GNA-
Mr Ken Ofori Atta, the Minister of Finance, has said government would
accelerate entrepreneurship and MSME growth to support economic dynamism and
job creation.
In addition to the
business regulatory streamlining and the financial sector innovations that
would help SMEs, enhanced support to SMEs and MSMEs will be achieved through
strengthening and rationalizing government’s main entrepreneurship and
enterprise support programmes such as NBSSI and NEIP, he said.
Mr Ofori Atta,
presenting the 2020 Budget and Economic Policies in Parliament, said government
would facilitate linkages between domestic entrepreneurs and FDI firms to join
global value chains.
The Minister
said recent studies conducted by the World Bank Group (WBG) indicates that 200
million people worldwide are unemployed and are looking for jobs.
Mr Ofori-Atta said
the studies indicate that “600 million new jobs are needed globally over the
next 15 years to keep employment rates stable, and 1 billion young people will
enter the labour market between 2015 and 2030”.
He said the creation
of jobs and connecting to markets, as well as building capabilities and
connecting workers to jobs are the policy drivers for the TVET strategy.
Mr Ofori Atta said
industrialisation drive through the ten-point agenda for industrial
transformation for rapid growth, could not be supported due to inadequate
skills locally.
“Hence, our focus
and emphasis on TVET and skills development through our free SHS and TVET
flagship programmes. We are supporting skills development (TVET) to
ensure employability to help drive the economic transformation agenda.”
Mr Ofori Atta
announced that government would over the medium term, establish 32 new
state-of-the-art TVET institutions across the country to address the
infrastructure deficit to expand access and increase enrolment, as well as
improve on capacity to run programmes that would culminate in equipping
learners with skills that meets the needs of industry.
GNA
