A total of 3,401 youth trained in dressmaking and hairdressing have been presented with equipments to boost their vocation in the Northern Region. The venture is a collaborative project between the NYEP and Asongtaba Cottage Industries and Exchange Programme (ACI&EP) which seeks to provide skills training and development for the youth in various trades and vocations that lead to their economic independence and future security. The project is being implemented in four stages which include the training segment under well experienced master trainers, Set-up, Recovery and Micro finance stage. At a graduation ceremony in Sagnarigu within the Tamale Metropolis, the National Coordinator of the NYEP, Abuga Pele appealed to the beneficiaries to justify the trust reposed in their training by practicing their trade and serve as avenues to employ others. He said one of the major challenges facing the nation was youth unemployment and it is the realization of this threats that government set-up the National Youth Employment Programme to help deal with the situation. He announced that government is partnering with the World Bank to further expand the operations of the NYEP to enable more youth benefit from its numerous projects. Mr. Pele also entreated the management of ACI&EP to thoroughly explain the four stages of implementation to beneficiaries to enable them understand the procedures involved, adding that it is his hope that there will be more beneficiaries of the program. The Head of Monitoring and Evaluation at ACI&EP, Mr. Faisal Keleu said 10,255 hairdressing beneficiaries and 23,971 dressmaking beneficiaries with a master trainer population of about 5,200 are to be graduated and set-up nationwide before the end of October 2012. He said about 7000 youth have already been trained and graduated between 2010 and 2011 in dressmaking while an additional 5000 are currently under training in Auto Mechanics nationwide. Mr. Keleu was happy beneficiaries in the Northern region were being graduated and assured stakeholders that other regions will soon follow in the coming weeks. In a statement read on his behalf, the Northern Regional Minister Moses Bukari Mabengba described the program as a massive opportunity for the country’s youth through skills training and development to enhance national growth and development. He said the NYEP and the Northern region were happy to acknowledge the drive and creativity of ACI&EP for making this splendid contribution towards the Better Ghana agenda of the government of Ghana. He passionately called on all well-meaning Ghanaians including the donor community, 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 Chief of Sagnarigu, Naa Yakubu Abdulai Andani who is also Ghana’s ambassador to Senegal congratulated the beneficiaries and encouraged them to use the knowledge imparted in them to improve their living conditions. The ceremony was well attended by National, Regional and district coordinators of the NYEP, the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, the Metropolitan police commander and his assistants, management and staff of ACI&EP and Traditional rulers.