By Michael Dewornu
The German Development Cooperation, GIZ has supported Don Bosco Technical Institute with an amount of one Million Euros. This is to help the institute train some 2000 youth with employable skills. Out of the 2000 to be trained 70% will be connected with local industries by the end of the year 2022. The support forms part of GIZ special initiative on training and job creation under the Invest for Jobs brand.
Under the Invest for Jobs brand, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has put together a package of measures to support German, European and African companies in investment activities that have a high impact on employment in Africa. The Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation offers comprehensive advice, contacts and financial support to overcome investment barriers. The development objective is to team up with companies to create good jobs and training opportunities in the partner countries. One of the partners identified as a training center is the Don Bosco Technical Institute.
The institute is a non-profit making Christian institution which provides employment-linked, market oriented vocational training. With the support from GIZ, students from Don Bosco will benefit from 3 months of comprehensive hands-on training and a 3-month industrial attachment. The training will be done with industry players to ensure that there is no missing link between industry and the training offered. According to the Principal of the Don Bosco Technical Institute, Rev. Father Mark Eshun technical and vocational education, and Skills development and related employability are ”integral parts of the industrial transformation and the institute is happy to be playing a major role in offering skills and training to the youth to make them employable”.
The Team Leader of Invest for Jobs at GIZ Mr. John Duti, indicated that since the inception of the cooperation between the two bodies, a total of 454 young persons have received training in different fields, and about 33 percent of this number have been placed in companies for attachment.
Some of them are already integrating very well and for several of them, their host companies intend to keep them on board.
The job fair facilitated networking and matchmaking opportunities for industry players. The event also served as a platform for graduating students to demonstrate skills and technical knowledge acquired in their field of training.
The theme for the fair “Youth Unemployment: Bridging the Industry-Education Skills Gap”.
