Exiting NABCO trainees to consider entrepreneurship under YouStart

The CEO of NABCO Dr Ibrahim Anyars said the 3-year NABCO initiative bridges the gap between academia and industry by providing opportunities for young people after tertiary education to gain more experience and become attractive to the demand side of the industry.

He indicated that young people after graduation from school did not adequately have the required skills and values for the job market.

Dr Anyars said this on a panel discussion at a Consultative Breakfast Meeting on 'Harmonizing Policies and Programmes on Youth Development in Ghana" organized by The National Youth Authority (NYA) on Friday, April 8, 2022, at Alisa Hotel, North Ridge-Accra.

The meeting brought together The Nation Builder’s Corps (NABCO), National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP), Youth Employment Agency (YEA), National Service Scheme (NSS), Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), Ghana Scholarship Secretariat (SCHOLSEC) among others who discussed the core objectives of their agencies and how to synergize to create greater impact.

The Minister of Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta who was the special guest of honor reemphasized that entrepreneurship must be at the centre stage of job creation for Ghana’s youth and the YouStart under the Ghana CARES Programme will be the platform to provide the needed capacity, technology, required skills set and capital.

The Minister for Public Enterprises, Hon. Joseph Cudjoe stated that entrepreneurship create jobs therefore youth programmes should prioritize entrepreneurship.

Dr Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, Director General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) who chaired the meeting noted that the current older generation must stop pushing the youth to hunt for public sector jobs.

Citing the entrepreneurship initiative under the YouStart Dr Anyars hinted that the now 66,648 trainees from the NABCO Scheme are capable of meeting YouStart initiative. This is in the light of their exit arrangements, but even more imperative is the quantum of investment that has been made already in these tertiary graduates.

To conclude the consultative meeting, the youth-focused agencies agreed on the need for convergence, harmonisation and the coordination of their respective mandates for greater impact.

Representatives of The United Nations (UN) Systems in Ghana, Development Partners and Civil Society Organizations, other youth development organs were part of this meeting.