The Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, Most Rev. Matthew Kwesi Gyamfi, has urged the youth not to be in a hurry to be successful or rich without using legal means. 

According to him, such moves will bring undesirable consequences to themselves and their families. He said they should rather implore calculated steps as they work hard, and this will result in success.  

Most Rev. Gyamfi was speaking at a graduation ceremony in Sunyani, themed; ”Skills development and training for Covid-19 economic revitalization for young and vulnerable people”. 

34 students graduated after they underwent six months of intensive vocational skills training at the Pax Garments in Sunyani. 

The one million Ghana cedis skills acquisition training project was sponsored by the Ministry of Finance through Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) with an agency, Charitas Ghana and Pax Garments.

The initiative is meant to train young men and women to acquire vocational skills to establish their business as Covid-19 is rendering a lot of people jobless. 

The Catholic Bishop urged the graduands to practicalize their skills and not be looking around for white-collar job opportunities because they have the required skills to start work. 

He further admonished them to be innovative and stand out in their creativity as the working environment, he added, is highly competitive.

Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, cautioned the graduating students to be mindful of their actions towards everybody they come across. She said with the right attitude and character, they would be successful. 

“The kind of character they exhibit will have ripple effects on society as well, so they should endeavor to be of good character”, she added. 

Rev. Fr. Lazarus Anondee, the Executive Secretary of GCBC, promised the graduands that they would receive startup capital which will enable them to start their business venture. 

“By doing so, they should unleash their potential by starting, and gradually they can expand their business. This will result in the government gaining revenue through tax from such companies to develop the country”, he said.

Rev. Fr. Peter Oppong Kumi, the Chief Executive Officer of Pax Garments also urged the graduates to be good ambassadors of the initiative so that other stakeholders can also come on board to support the project. 

He further advised those who are still undergoing training to emulate the outgoing students by learning assiduously to also graduate successfully.

Augustina Atimbire, a beneficiary, praised the project and asked for the expansion of the initiative to cover a lot of people.