As part of measures aimed at curbing the high unemployment level in the country, the Minister for Business Development, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal has assured that the ministry will equip the youth with the needed skills to help them set up their own businesses.
According to him, the ministry will undertake the initiative through a programme that will be rolled out within the second quarter of the year with financial support from both the private and public sectors.
Speaking in an interview with Citi Business News,Mr.Awal disclosed that plans are underway to start capacity building programmes between professionals in various fields to share their expertise with tertiary students.
“We want to bridge the gap between academia and industry.Usually when people come from school, they are not able to fit into the job market so we want to get professionals’ whether with our bankers, engineers, doctors or ICT experts to go to various universities and polytechnics to teach and groom them on the various subject areas as this will help these students to come out with business plans” he noted.
He further assured that students who came up with good projects would be supported
“Those that are good enough will have support to turn their business plans into projects and programmes and we will support those projects to make sure they turn those plans into actual projects so that by the time they come out of school they become job owners and not just job seekers,” he said.
“We will help them set up their businesses, and employ people. It’s in line with government’s mandate to equip young people with entrepreneurial skills. It’s not only meant for those in schools but for people who haven’t been to school as well,” he added.
Mr. Awal made the assertion at sidelines of the launch of the Royal Banking and Finance Challenge initiative.
The Royal Banking and Finance Challenge is an initiative that seeks to educate the youth and society on the importance of financial literacy and provide a platform for the youth to contribute meaningfully to the growth of the financial services sector in Ghana.
The Royal Banking and Financial Challenge is an initiative of Edufair Ghana Foundation to project Ghana as the educational hub in Africa.
The maiden edition will take place in the auditorium of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.
It has also been endorsed by Data Bank, SSNIT, National Insurance Commission and the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The competition will bring together sixteen universities from all over the country.
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By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana