The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has launched the “Youth in Garment and Textiles Module” to help address unemployment in the country.

The module, among other things, aims at bridging the skills gap and creating sustainable employment opportunities for young people interested in tailoring or dressmaking and ultimately contributing towards their growth and development.

Even before the launch, the module generated a positive response from the various stakeholders as 2,000 registered beneficiaries have so far been shortlisted as trainees, with 500 master craftsmen in the category of micro and small-scale dressmakers and tailors selected as trainers of the trainees. 

Chief of Staff

The Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, who launched the module in Kumasi yesterday, said the government was committed to youth employment interventions by initiating policies aimed at providing skills necessary for productivity, growth and sustained development.

She said the Free Senior High School (SHS) Policy, Free Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) interventions and the numerous business support schemes available for youth start-ups and youth entrepreneurs across the country were key programmes the government had employed to make lives better.

She said the YEA’s Garment and Apparel Module was a laudable initiative that plugged into government’s efforts at promoting the technical and vocational sector as a viable alternative means of employment.

The Chief of Staff called on master craftsmen of the Garment and Apparel Module to demonstrate strong commitment by providing high quality training to all beneficiaries, urging them to provide top-notch, high quality technical skill transfer and an acceptable business culture for all beneficiaries.

Significance

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of YEA, Kofi Baah Agyepong, said the garment and textile industry played a significant role in the country's economy, contributing to export revenue, employment generation and culture preservation.

He said the module had been designed carefully to afford beneficiaries the opportunity to receive in-depth knowledge and hands-on training in various aspects of tailoring and dressmaking, including fabric selection, cutting techniques, sewing, garment construction, pattern making and alteration.

“The programme also targets to directly engage already existing apparel start-ups to support in the implementation process to achieve the desired objectives and this will involve on-the-job training in the various skill areas to be undertaken by selected Garment and Textile partner companies, micro and small-scale seamstresses and tailors who would provide apprenticeship for the youth within their communities,” he explained.

Mr Agyepong revealed that over 20 selected industrial garment companies were being engaged to train the beneficiaries in large-scale garment manufacturing.

He said the YEA had exceeded its 2023 youth employment projection by 16 per cent as it projected to engage 71,500 youths throughout its programmes.

However, as of May 2023, the Agency had engaged 84,483 youths who are working and contributing to various sectors of the economy.

Mr Agyepong said the YEA had been guided by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision of sustainable job creation for the youth by ensuring that majority of them benefited from the various programmes rolled out by the YEA under the current management.

Recruitment

Moreover, he said the YEA had been able to achieve the recruitment of 6,000 Community Health Workers; 15,000 Community Protection Assistants; 1,500 Prisons Service Assistants  and 800 artisans for the INZAG Project.

“We still have the 45,000 beneficiaries for the youth in Sanitation Module, recruitment of 4,000 farm workers for the Afarinick Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme; recruitment of 6,000 insurance agents and creation of over 11,000 employment opportunities through the YEA’s Job Centre,” he said.

Capacities

For his part, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, stressed efforts the government was making to build the capacities of the youth and create an enabling environment for them to secure and create jobs.

He mentioned that job creation had become a major factor in the development of the country, hence the government would not gloss over issues relating to the sector.

Mr Baffour-Awuah said his ministry, together with YEA, would soon launch and add other disciplines to the modules, adding that more were in the offing so the Ghanaian youth must have confidence in the government.