Professor Daniel Y.A. Duah, Dean, International Programmes Officer (IPO) at the Office of the Vice-Chancellor at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has lauded the National Service Scheme (NSS) for coming out with a new mission, dubbed, ‘Deployment for Employment’.
The new mission, comprising 11 modules, is aimed at reducing unemployment among young graduates after completing the compulsory one-year National Service programme.
He entreated the scheme to also put into consideration other modules like entrepreneurship training to enable the young graduates acquire employable skills to fit into the job market.
Professor Duah made the recommendations at a meeting with officials of the Ashanti Regional Directorate of the NSS who visited the university.
He was of the view that the NSS stop using the personnel for professional work, which they were not qualified to do, and stressed that it was important for the scheme to liaise with the universities and other professional bodies like engineering and law professions to situate them into the proper context towards diversity to meet the contemporary needs.
The Dean also entreated the scheme to liaise with the University towards the planning of their upcoming fifteenth (50th) anniversary celebration, to enable them give their inputs for the programme, with regard to the planning and ideas.
The Professor urged the NSS to come out with ideas that would be in line with or benefit to the service by putting measures as to how they could do more.
He reiterated that in solving unemployment among young graduates, the scheme must have national competition for entrepreneurship for the National Service personnel annually, by putting a huge sum of money at stake for the winners of various categories to contest on national television or stage, which, he said, could help them have hundreds of business ideas, in order not to be a burden to the nation, as the young people always want to come to the limelight or social media.
The NSS officials also visited Fan Milk Plc at Kaase, Yaa Asantewaah Rural Bank at Ejisu, and other public and private institutions in the region as their partners to seek ideas and also reveal the aims and objectives of the new mission which replaces the previous mobilisation for deployment mission to make it achievable.
Madam Ranstina Opare Saforo, Corporate Head of Fan Milk PLC assured of the company’s readiness to partner NSS to help the young ones acquire jobs to address the threat to the national security.
According to her, their outfit recognizes NSS personnel as part of them and not any add on hence some of them have been engaged permanently as far as they fall in line with their category of performance and delivery. She promised the managers of the NSS to go through their modules and see how they can help or contribute to make them achieve their mission.
Mr. Adams Faisal, Ashanti Regional Sales Manager, Head of Cluster Mid-Savana of Fan Milk PLC, said they support entrepreneurship projects since it is about the future and security of the country. Mr. Alex Opoku Mensah, the Regional Director also expressed his profound gratitude to the management and institutions they visited for the warm reception, ideas and inputs given to the NSS to enhance their new mission statement, which he said would go a long way to absolve most of the young graduates into the job market.
