A report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that one in every four young persons between 15 and 24 years was not engaged in education, employment, or training during the third quarter of 2022.

The figure, representing 1.5 million persons in the age group, demands greater emphasis on alternative sources of employment and livelihoods.

In view of this, SOS Children’s Villages Ghana is encouraging young people and aspiring entrepreneurs to develop news skills through its coaching conferences.

The multi-stakeholder conference comes at a critical time when a number of young people seeking self-employment are faced with setbacks hindering their success.

Market structures, lack of skills development avenues, motivation and mentorship usually block the youth who aspire to start their own businesses.

SOS Children’s Villages Ghana met some youth in Kumasi on World Youth Skills Day to discuss ways of creating sustainable job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth in Ghana.

The conference included a mentorship and coaching session that helped over 190 participants identify their strengths and weaknesses to be able to survive in their business endeavors.

Programs Manager, SOS CV Kumasi, Bernard Amoako indicated that with skills development, there is hope for many youth to make a decent living through productive economic engagement.

“With experts from the industry, we are hopeful that our young people in business or planning their businesses will benefit.

"It is about sharing ideas that they will be able to tap into. If we leave the youth and we don't support them, then we are in for doom. And with enough training, they can contribute to their own betterment and support their families,” he said.

This year’s theme for World Skills Day is, ‘Youth Skills for Peace and Development’.

The event accorded participants of SOS Children’s Villages Youth Empowerment Programs the opportunity to discuss TVET skills, business innovation, and the role of the youth in peaceful elections.

The event assembled young persons, industry players, leaders of Ghana’s Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector; business funding partners including the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) as well as youth coaches drawn from ongoing SOS CV-led livelihood empowerment programs.

It also brought together twelve (12) GrEEn Project beneficiaries from the six (6) MDAs in the Ashanti Region.

These beneficiaries had the chance to socialize with other project participants.

Daniel Amo, who is the Deputy Ashanti Regional Director for TVET Services, said “If we look at the figures, we should be expecting not less than 60,000 students in TVET schools this year.

"We have 233 TVET institutions nationwide against about 800 Senior High Schools. If we increase access then more students can come in but for now, we are constrained."