By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Resident Representative of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Commission in Ghana, Ambassador Baba Gana Wakil, has called on leaders of the various countries to double their efforts in addressing poverty and youth unemployment.
According to him, youth unemployment is a major factor contributing to the increase in transborder crimes along the West Coast of Africa.
Ambassador Wakil made the call at the official opening of a ten-day training workshop for some selected youth at the University of Ghana Business School in Accra.
According to the Resident Representative of the ECOWAS Commission in Ghana, youth unemployment has been the biggest fuel for the increasing social vices in the corridors of West Africa, such as kidnapping, armed robbery, political thuggery, and terrorism, among others, which are indicators of national doom. These criminal activities negatively affect the peace, security, and development of the nation.
Ambassador Wakil explained that the only way to tame these criminal activities negatively affecting peace, security, and economic development is to engage the youth with self-employed skills.
It’s on this basis that the Commission is organising such workshops across the bloc to ensure that young people are empowered through ICT and other employable skills training.
For the start, the Commission is training 200 young people in full stack development (Software Engineering, Web and Mobile Applications) and cable TV installations.
“The commission chose these two courses because technological advancement has become the norm, and from the look of things, no nation, organisation, or business can grow or develop without technology.
So ICT infrastructure, training amongst other are very important on our agenda as a commission. We believe ICT is going to be the game changer for our communities, and that is why we attach so much emphasis on ICT training for our teeming youth.
I therefore encourage very young persons to get involved with these opportunities when it avail itself,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ramsys Info-Tech Solutions and project coordinator, Mr Emmanuel Arthur, revealed in an interview with the media that participants have been divided into two groups.
The first group, according to him, has 150 young people who are going through full-stack development (Software Engineering, Web and Mobile Applications). While the second group of 50 young people is offering the cable TV installations program.
Mr Arthur hinted that the commission will support the 200 trainers with some setup tools and kits to enable them to start their own businesses.
“Aside this setup kits and tools, participants will be put into groups where they will be mentored by seasoned professionals and experts to guide their development process,” he noted.
