The National Service Scheme (NSS) is committed to introducing programmes aimed at empowering graduates to go into entrepreneurship, the Executive Director of the Scheme, Alhaji Alhassan Imoro, has stated.
He said the NSS had consistently advocated youth entrepreneurship skills development programmes for national service personnel and Ghanaian youth.
He said it was because of this that the NSS has introduced service persons to agriculture in line with the government’s Youth in Agriculture Programme.
The NSS deployed over 80, 000 service personnel across the country in the 2013/2014 service year.
In an address read for him by the Deputy Director of Administration and Finance, Mr Michael Kunbour, at the opening of a two-day mini congress of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) in Kumasi, Alhaji Imoro stated that all over the world, entrepreneurship was dominating activities towards national economic development.
He emphasised the need for service personnel to develop their mindset and to work hard towards achieving their goal of becoming entrepreneurs.
“You therefore need to avail yourself of various entrepreneurship skills development training programmes that would be organised for you periodically”, he said.
Partnerships with other stakeholder
He gave an assurance that the scheme would continue to seek partnerships with other stakeholders in youth development to provide the needed opportunities for the youth to take advantage of and develop their entrepreneurial skills.
The Executive Director also implored service persons, who would be completing their service period in August this year, to develop their proposals out of the skill training programmes to enable them to take full advantage of the GH¢10 million special fund for the youth, which had been announced by President John Dramani Mahama.
He further gave an assurance that the management of the scheme would continue to guide and support national service persons in their quest to becoming entrepreneurs.
The Maabanhene, Nana Dr Bontwi Darko II, who represented the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, outlined six secrets of entrepreneurial development.
He listed them as “Support, Involvement and Contacts, Sustainability, Motivation, Educational Value and Technical Support”.
The Ashanti Regional Director of the NSS, Mr Kwesi Quainoo, who was supported by district directors of the scheme in the Ashanti Region, urged NASPA to work towards their goal and work for the development of the country.
Source: Graphic Online