By Christopher Tetteh
Techiman, (BE/R), Nov. 20, GNA – The European Union (EU) in partnership with the German Agency for International Corporation (GIZ), has inaugurated state-or-the-art Public Employment Centres in Techiman and Berekum in the Bono East and Bono Regions respectively.
Each of the two facilities, has offices, Technical and Vocational Education Training and Counselling units, with washrooms and other employable skills training facilities.
They serve as jobs and employment opportunity outlets for the youth, and provide counselling and related assistance to migrant returnees in the local communities.
Speaking at separate ceremonies in Berekum and Techiman, Mr Massimo Mina, the Head of Operation, EU Delegation, said “the centres will further provide young people in Ghana with the employment services they need to succeed in today’s competitive job market.”
He said the establishment of the Centres was as a direct result of the EU’s commitment to support the Government of Ghana’s national development goals on improving employment opportunities.
Additionally, Mr Mina said the facilities co-funded by the EU and Germany, were to tackle emerging issues of employment services, labour mobility, and migration management, saying, migration, both internal and external, had significant implications on economic development of every nation.
Hence, the need to help provide employable skills training for the youth to become self-reliant and contribute meaningfully to accelerated national development, instead of overlying on irregular migration to find greener pastures abroad.
“These are to provide the people with concrete alternatives to irregular migration. It is designed not only to help individuals find employment, but also to guide, and advise them on migration and other opportunities to work and study abroad,” he stated.
Mr Mina expressed the hope that the facilities would serve as vital and vibrant hubs for young people, job seekers, and employers to connect, share information, and access tools they needed to succeed in life.
Dr Dirk Assmann, the GIZ Country Director, said “the centre will secure the future of Ghanaian youth by providing them with economic opportunities and platforms to support the growth and development of Ghana.”
He urged the unemployed young people to capitalise on the facilities and to seek jobs and employable skills training to live decent lives, and also help tackle growing irregular migration in the country.
Dr Assmann called for continuous collaboration between all stakeholders to create an enabling environment for sustainable livelihoods enhancement and boosting economic opportunities too.
At Techiman, Mr Kwasi Adu-Gyan, the Bono East Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, stressed that the government had prioritised employment creation, and was putting in place several social intervention programmes to create jobs for the youth.
He commended the EU and the GIZ for the facility and expressed the hope that its operationalization would significantly improve job opportunities for the people.
Mr Fredrick Obeng Abeka, the Deputy Chief Labour Officer, said a Global Ghana Labour Market Information System had also been established at the centres for job seekers to seek jobs directly from home and abroad, adding, that would reduce the rising youth unemployment in the country.
GNA