A shoemaker at Tema Community One has revealed that some youth in Ghana preferred engaging in internet fraud and betting activities to acquiring a skill. 

Eric Mensah, who is physically disabled, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that it was worrying to see the youth shying away from apprenticeship and skill acquisition. 

He indicated that “most of the youth don’t like work; they prefer doing internet fraud to allowing themselves to successfully go through an apprenticeship.” 

He said most of the youth who enrol in apprenticeships often boycott the training if they gain some basic skills in the trade instead of patiently going through the training to be well trained. 

“When you are training them, the moment they learn a little, they run away thinking that they know the trade, and they start taking orders even though they have a lot to learn,” he said. 

According to him, because they are not well trained, they churn out substandard products, making people doubt the quality of Ghanaian-made items. 

He therefore advised the youth to take their skills training very well, as that will ensure a better future for them than engaging in criminal activities, stressing that acquiring a skill is more sustainable than engaging in internet fraud and other questionable activities. 

He encouraged persons with disabilities (PWDs) to also learn a trade to make a living instead of resorting to begging on the streets, as that degrades them. 

Mr Mensah noted that "When you have a skill or engage in some trade, there are support funds such as the Disability Common Fund that you can apply to for some financial support for your work. There is dignity in working rather than begging for alms.”