Accra, Aug. 15 GNA- A total of 2,358 young women have so far benefited from the Innovation in Non-Traditional Vocational Education and Skills Training (INVEST) project.
Of the total, 655 have been awarded the INVEST scholarship scheme; 295 benefited from the Women in Technical and Vocational Education business stream, 130 linked to companies under the internship programme and 527 paired with mentors.
The INVEST initiative seeks to build sustainable pathways to enhance economic empowerment, well-being, and inclusive growth of women by supporting them to enter and thrive within high-growth, male-dominated trades.
The five-year CAD$8.5 million grant Canadian funded project is targeting to address the root causes of gender inequalities by supporting 5000 young women in Accra, Kumasi, and Sekondi-Takoradi.
Mrs Appiah Boakye, Project Director of INVEST, speaking at a stakeholder event to take stock and share success and lessons said the initiative was keen on making a real impact in the lives of beneficiaries and that the project had started recording such gains.
She stated that INVEST had created an enabling environment for young women to access decent work, which had led to a strengthened workforce and labour market.
The Project, Mrs Boakye said, partly focused on supporting young women to train in fields including, automotive mechanic, electrical, welding and fabrication.
Others were electrical installation, solar installation, electronics, computer hardware, coding, and networking.
Mrs Boakye urged young females to take up TVET to increase job prospects and harness the opportunities the fourth industrial revolution presented.
She stated that the project would continue to create an enabling environment for aspiring entrepreneurs to equip them with the needed skills and establish themselves to motivate other young women who would want to take up the challenge.
“For us, our interest is in how to support both supply and demand side actors, training institutions, government, curricular, regulators and the private sector to create an enabling environment for young women to be able to move and navigate these spaces,” she said.
INVEST is being implemented by the World University Service of Canada with partners including ABANTU for Development, National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan, Ghana Chamber of Construction and Industry, Women in Law and Development, Self-Search Ghana, Commission for TVET, Farm Radio International, Lyme Haus Solutions and National Vocational Training Institute.
GNA