The Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, Mr. George Opare Addo, has stated that the youth unemployment rate for those aged 15-24 currently stands at approximately 5.4%. However, when including underemployment and those in insecure informal work, recent estimates place youth unemployment and underemployment as high as 38.8%, with nearly 70% of employed youth engaged in the informal sector.
The Minister made this known at the matriculation and induction ceremony of the National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP) beneficiaries at the Center for National Culture in Kumasi. The NAP is a flagship initiative of the government under the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, implemented by the National Youth Authority.
The core mandate of NAP is to create structured pathways for young Ghanaians to acquire competency-based, industry-relevant skills that will empower them for gainful employment and entrepreneurship. The program targets enrolling 10,000 beneficiaries across all 16 regions of the country, covering nine broad trade areas that respond directly to the labor market demands of the economy. These trade areas include:
1. Agriculture and Agro-processing
2. Craftsmanship and Artisanal Trades
3. Mechanical and Electrical Trades
4. Traditional Crafts, Arts, and Creative Trades
5. Fashion and Textile Trades
6. Cosmetology
7. Renewable and Sustainable Energy
8. Hospitality and Tourism
9. ICT and Emerging Digital Crafts
The beneficiaries of the program expressed their gratitude to the government and pledged to remain disciplined, committed, and focused until the end of their training. They also promised to respect their Master Craft Persons and uphold the ethics of their chosen trade.
The Atwima Afranchohene, Nana Odei Nsiah Akodampa II, commended the government for the program and advised the beneficiaries not to let the government down. He urged them to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire skills and become self-employed or employed .
