A Board Member of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), Ambassador George Kumi, has appealed to the Sunyani Municipal Assembly and the Ghana TVET Service to support the Sunyani Youth Development Association (SYDA) Skills Training Centre through the assembly’s Skills Fund.
“I wish to appeal to the Sunyani Municipal Assembly to consider supporting the skills training in Sunyani with part of its Skills Fund,” he said.
Ambassador Kumi was speaking at the inauguration of phase two of the Sunyani Youth Development Association’s skills training project initiated to support the livelihoods of vulnerable youth in the Bono Region.
The program was on the theme: “Resourcing TVET Facilities to enhance Entrepreneurship Development and Job Creation.”
As part of the inauguration ceremony, 22 new trainees (about 95 per cent females), mostly teenage single mothers, were inducted into the skills training programme.
Ambassador Kumi pledged the government’s commitment to making Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) the game changer in the socio-economic and livelihood development of Ghanaians.
He noted: “Handicraft skill training initiatives like that of SYDA deserves maximum support, because that’s one of the best means to help reduce youth unemployment in Ghana and Africa.”
The President of the Sunyani Youth Development Association, Mr. Atta Akoto Senior, said having reached the community with advocacies over the years, management of the association realised that just talking alone could not solve the problems facing the youth, but rather embark on a direct impact project that would make the unemployed youth self-sufficient, which resulted in the skills training project.
“This idea was discussed with Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II, the late Paramount Chief of Sunyani Traditional Area and President of the Sunyani Traditional Council.”
The late Nana Bosoma II and the entire Council threw in their support to make our idea a reality, hence, the introduction of the “SYDA Integrated Sewing Project”, he said.
The Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Ansu Kumi, thanked the GIIF Board for the logistical support to improve the skills development initiative that would create employment opportunities for young people of Sunyani and the Bono region.
Mr. Ansu Kumi pledged the Assembly’s support to the Centre and encouraged the trainees to take advantage of the opportunity so they could also help train others.
