The Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) formally NYEP, has completed the nationwide graduation of its beneficiaries who were trained in hairdressing and dressmaking under its Trades and Vocation Module. Beneficiaries in the Brong-Ahafo, Upper West and Upper East regions were the last to be graduated. The training was in partnership with Asongtaba Cottage Industry and Exchange Programme, a private company which specializes in creating job opportunities for the youth. Throughout the nationwide exercise, beneficiaries received certificates and kits free of charge as part of the business set up process. In a speech read on his behalf, the Executive Director of GYEEDA, Mr. Abuga Pele said in propelling the agenda for youth entrepreneurship, steps have been initiated to harness the immense benefits of Public Private Partnership towards solving the youth unemployment situation in the country. He said several initiatives were being implemented jointly with private and non-Governmental institutions such as Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Youth Enterprises and Skills Development Center (YESDEC), RLG Communications and Asontagtaba Cottage Industries. Mr. Pele said the World Bank had agreed to finance a programme, “Youth Enterprise Project”, which would bring together youth groups and individuals who have brilliant business ideas and proposals to be supported and mentored as they grow their businesses into sustainable ventures. 2,339 beneficiaries in dressmaking and 1109 in hairdressing graduated in Brong-Ahafo while in the Upper West region equipments were presented to 2,227 beneficiaries in dressmaking and 1,009 for hairdressing. In the Upper East region where 2,700 graduated in dressmaking and 998 in hairdressing, the Deputy Regional Minister Madame Lucy Awuni charged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the opportunity, prepare themselves well and exit into mainstream employment opportunities. She called on all well meaning Ghanaians, partners including the donor partners, youth, the general public and more importantly, the direct beneficiaries to support this initiative to help the National Youth Employment Programme achieve the desired goals. The Executive Director of Asongtaba Henry Kangah said his company is currently shifting it attention from the training to ensure that all badges of trainees under the trades and vocation module are properly setup or employed. He added that the company seeks to achieve this through a comprehensive enterprise project as well as the establishment of regional industrial production centers. Mr. Kangah said a master trainer population of about 5,200 is to be graduated nationwide before the end of December 2012, while an additional 5000 are currently under the training in the Auto Mechanics project nationwide. “Additionally, 10,000 youth will be provided real jobs under the Community Tricycle project which will commence in December 2012 nationwide” says Mr. Kangah. The three regional graduations were attended by traditional rulers, management of GYEEDA, opinion leaders and government representatives.