TVET Initiatives Should Be Actionable

Mr Kwabena Nketia Addae, the Executive Director, Young Men Christian Association Ghana (YMCA), has appealed to government to walk the talk with regards to Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) in the country.

He said if the Technical and Vocational institutions are well resourced it can absorb many young people who can become self-employed artisans and reduce unemployment rates in the country.

Mr Addae was speaking at the second quadrennial council meeting of the National Council of the YMCA, Ghana in Accra on the theme: 'Our Call to Serve: Youth Empowerment for Good #YE4Good'.

He said a recent study by Global Communities, an NGO indicated that within the next five years there was going to be a short fall of 700,000 people in the construction industry and noted that Technical and Vocational skills was one big aspect of the construction industry.

He said it was important that Government channel some support especially towards the private technical and vocational training institutions to mitigate the challenges they face.

The event which is organised every four years is to deliberate on the way forward for the Association and also elect into office new leaders to serve in various capacities for the years ahead.

Mr Kwame Gyimah Akwafo, the outgoing National President, of YMCA, Ghana called on the council members to rigorously champion the empowerment of the youth to secure their future.

He said the task of youth empowerment could been seen as a simple but it was a mission that requires patience, life-long dedication, wisdom, and most importantly staying young at heart to understand young people and chart a good path for their empowerment'.

Mr Akwafo, said the YMCA had made good strides since its inception 128 years ago by always coming up with new ways of engaging the youth in a manner that was exciting and effective at the same time.

But that notwithstanding, 'we must also strive to be more relevant to the young people we serve. We need to constantly keep up with the times and must be dynamic in our approach towards current trends,' he said.

He gave the assurance that the YMCA would lend all the support within it purview to any project that helps to empower young people and urged them to work together to propagate the message and secure a better future for the youth.

The Outgoing President said to strive for the better, the YMCA Ghana was aggressively pursuing a strategy under the #YE4Good initiative to create safe and power spaces for the youth.

This he said would provide the safe forum of telling and hearing the untold stories of young people, the sexual exploitation of young people looking for jobs and the half-baked policies of government around the world that compromise on the abilities of young people to fully develop.

He called on corporate bodies to support the YMCA financially and in kind as well as offer the youth who have undergone training at the YMCA attachment opportunities in their institutions.

The YMCA, Ghana traces its history to 1890 when a young Gold Coaster, Wilkins Micaber Abbey, who had come into contact with the Association in Scotland during his study tour to Europe, brought it to the Gold Coast.

It has spread to many cities, towns and villages in the country and are engaging many Ghanaians in meaningful pastimes, volunteer services and community animation.