The British Council has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with two government agencies to help develop skills and provide employment opportunities for the country’s young people.
The agencies are the National Youth Authority (NYA) and the National Service System (NSS).
This was part of an effort to reaffirm the Council’s commitment to developing young people in the areas of skills, education and access to employment opportunities.
The agreement will also provide youth mentorship opportunities for past beneficiaries of British Council programs to share their experiences and positively impact the lives of young people.
The British Council’s Country Director for Ghana, Nii Doodo Dodoo, announced this at the Impacting Young Lives Summit last Friday, to complement the agency’s efforts to provide decent jobs for young people in the country. It revealed that.
take on a mission
Mr. Doudo said the memorandum is a call to duty to ensure that the fundamental human right to a better life does not escape the continent’s youth.
“We are confident in the results this will bring to Ghanaian youth in terms of skills, education and access to opportunity,” he said.
He recalled that as a young man, the council was his window to a world of skills, education and opportunity.
He explained that the council made it easier for him to gain international work experience, which led to the opportunity to receive international education from Ghana.
“I have often met people who remember with great fondness how the British Council supported them on their life journeys from a young age and created opportunities that have made a huge contribution to who they are today. ” said Doudou.
According to World Bank research, half of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, and the number of 15-year-olds is expected to increase by 500,000 every year between 2015 and 2035, he said.
Given these figures, Doudo pointed out that approximately 300,000 new jobs would need to be created every year to absorb the growing number of unemployed young people in the country.
The Director-General therefore said that the situation presents both opportunities and challenges and it is the Council’s ambition to work with current and potential partners to take advantage of the opportunities and address the challenges the situation presents. He said that there is.
program
Pius Hadjide, Chief Executive Officer of NYA, explained that NYA implements various programs that address several aspects of youth development.
He said that these include the Skills for Employability and Productivity Initiative, which aims to provide youth with skills training and apprenticeships to take advantage of employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for livelihoods. (STEP) project is also included.
“For the 2022 phase of STEP, 1,000 beneficiaries, including people with disabilities, will be selected from across the country and trained in barbering, dressmaking, cosmetology, and parabolic antenna installation.
He pledged that the institution would open doors for young people to explore new avenues for development, interact with young people, learn from their experiences and contribute to global progress.