Sixty-five women in Talensi-Nabdam acquire vocational skills

Pelungu (UER), Sept. 27, GNA - A batch of 65 women graduated at the weekend after a one-year course in dressmaking, weaving and batik tie and dye production at the Pelungu Vocational Institute, in the Talensi-Nabdam District of the Upper East Region.

Human Resource and Community Service Support (HRCSS), a local non-governmental organisation, sponsored the programme in conjunction with the Ministry of Employment and Manpower Development under the Skills Training and Employment Placement (STEP) initiative. Mr Boniface Gambila, Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), who hails from the area, said the Vocational Institute was established in the community to help alleviate poverty as well as provide the people the opportunity to acquire business skills.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Regional Minister, Mr Mahami Salifu reiterated Government's determination to support youth employment through the pursuit of the STEP programme on sustainable basis. The Regional Minister advised the graduates to undertake refresher courses to update their skills to meet the demands of the competitive market.

"The world is fast changing and one has to change with it at all times," he emphasised.

Mr John Yaw Amankwah, a Board Member of the NSS, indicated that the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, had designed competence-based courses for all technical and vocational institutions in the country. "This will enhance productivity and directly benefit the individual employee, the employer and society as a whole."

The coordinator of the Pelungu Vocational Institute, Madam Agnes Anamoo commended the Government for establishing the Institute and called on parents and school leavers alike to recognise the importance of skill acquisition as a first step towards an independent life.