By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency in the Greater Accra region, Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, has launched an ambitious skills training programme aimed at equipping students in tertiary institutions with hands-on employable skills as they pursue their academic goals.
A total of 125 selected tertiary students out of over 600 from schools within the constituency who registered will benefit from the initial skills training programme for three months during the vacation period from February through May 2024.
Most of the beneficiary students who are in the second and third years of their tertiary education will receive both theory and practical training in Fashion and Design, graphic design, digital marketing, 3D signage making and branding, photo and videography, and content creation.
They are also expected to be equipped with make-up and entrepreneurship skills to enable them to formalise their businesses from scratch and empower them with knowledge of business registration processes, among others.
Speaking at the launch of the skills acquisition programme dubbed: Maa Lydia’s Grab a Skill Program, the Ayawaso West Wuogon lawmaker, who is also the first deputy Majority Whip in Ghana’s parliament, underscored the value of skills acquisition, which she described as an indispensable tool in today’s competitive global job market.
She noted that acquiring a degree alone was not enough and expressed excitement at the willingness of the students to gain skills that will enable them to enhance their employability.
“We all know that the degree that we have is not enough to take us to the job market. This is not happening only here in Ghana, it is happening across the globe. That is why I am particularly excited that you have signed up by yourselves to have something extra.
We are here to learn, we are here to get our degree and do our academic work, but we have also realised the need to add something to enhance our chances on the job market, and I am excited that, over 600 of you signed on to the programme”, Mad. Alhassan stated.
Maa Lydia, as she is affectionately called, said she is determined to help young people who are in school learning for a degree to also gain practical skills for side hustles while on campus and to enhance their chances of being employed or starting up businesses for themselves after school.
Ayawaso West Wuogon MP observed that the fashion industry alone is paying huge in Ghana and encouraged the students to take advantage of the avenue she is providing and acquire a skill for themselves while in school to cater for their basic needs.
She acknowledged that the students are in school first and foremost to acquire a degree but was quick to say that “these little things, you don’t know where it can take you” while urging them to strive to help themselves, saying, “You don’t have to depend on your parents once you are in the university”.
The MP charged the students to aspire to become great business leaders, global brands, and champions beyond the borders of Ghana and Africa.
The Ayawaso West Wuogon lawmaker expressed optimism about increasing the intake in subsequent cohorts to provide opportunities for more students to acquire skills while in school.
The Chief Executive Officer of Unik School of Art and Design, the partner organisation that will be providing the training, Mr. Mustapha Mohammed, assured of the readiness of his outfit to impact the students with the requisite skills over the next three months.
Mr. Mohammed, a former student of the University of Ghana, encouraged the students to show greater commitment to derive maximum benefit from their enrichment.
Mr. Philip Gyamfi of the University of Ghana (UG) @ 75 Secretariat commended Mad. Lydia Seyram Alhassan for her desire to help young people acquire skills as they prepare for the future.
According to him, the “Grab A Skill initiative” of the MP is in total sink with the vision of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, who recently launched the university’s internship programme to prepare students for the job market.
Mr Gyamfi, who is the Executive Chairman of the Ghana International Model United Nations (GIMUN), also admonished the beneficiary students to make maximum use of the skills training programme which has been fully sponsored by the MP.
He emphasised that it costs a whopping Ghc 63,000 for one to pursue a diploma in fashion and design alone, hence the need for the students to grab the moment.
Mr. Gyamfi also encouraged the students to eschew all forms of indiscipline, take full advantage of the programme which puts them a notch ahead of their colleagues, and become ambassadors in the next academic year.
The various instructors took turns highlighting what was in stock for the students when the course began.
The beneficiary students were selected from tertiary institutions including the University of Ghana and Accra College of Education, all within the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency.
