Vice President Mahamusu Bawumia has said the Akufo-Addo government has transformed the lives of thousands of itinerant female porters (kayayei) by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills. 

“Barely three months ago, I joined the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) in a grand event in Accra to launch the Kayayei Empowerment Programme in Madina,” the New Patriotic Party flagbearer said on Tuesday, 27 August 2024 at the graduation ceremony of some 10,000 artisans trained under the agency’s Skills Training Programme. 

Dr Bawumia told his audience at Techiman in the Bono East Region: “I am happy to state that thousands of young women through that programme have graduated with various skilled jobs in detergent and soap-making; beading and jewellery; makeup artistry, pedicure and manicure, baking and decoration.” 

He announced: “More Kayayei are currently undergoing training in Madina and Ashaiman and will soon be graduating into the world of work.” 

At the event, Dr Bawumia described the successful training of thousands of Ghanaian youth under the first phase of the Skills Training Programme as concrete evidence of the NPP government’s commitment to providing opportunities for the youth to acquire employable skills for life. 

The 10,000 youth, who were trained in carpentry, beauty care, hairdressing, plumbing, auto mechanics, plastering, painting, steel works, welding, and glazing, received allowances during their training and have also received start-up equipment.

The training comes on the heels of the recent training of thousands of ladies under the Kayayei Empowerment programme, as well as formal training under the Free Technical Vocational Training (FTVET) and digital training offered by facilities such as the Accra Digital Centre. 

Dr Bawumia reiterated the NPP government’s appreciation of the key role played by the youth in national development and envisioned the creation of even more training and job opportunities under the ongoing digitalisation agenda. 

“Some few years ago, I was privileged to be the guest speaker at Legon, when YEA first launched the Job Centre together with the Artisan Directory, a skill development program designed to build the capacity of artisans and to train new ones to meet current global requirements of the artisanal industry,” the NPP flagbearer recalled.  

“Today, I am happy to be part of this ceremony not because I was present at the birth of this great initiative in October 2019 but largely because of the anticipated socio-economic and cyclical impact of these new artisans on the growth and development of Ghana, the Ecowas Sub Region, Africa and the world as a whole,” he explained. 

“This pool of talented artisans in rows before us this morning presents varying opportunities for us to expand and develop the sector for the growth of our nation,” Dr Bawumia highlighted. 

He said the artisanal industry is the “oldest livelihood job in Ghana for centuries and still remains the powerful economic engine to absorb more people seeking sustainable job opportunities.” 

The Vice president praised the YEA for taking advantage of the government’s digitalisation agenda to create opportunities for the youth. 

“Since we assumed office in 2017, the NPP government had in the priority of things embarked on the digitalisation agenda to cover some, if not all key sectors of the economy. Indeed, leveraging the technological potentials of Ghana in the digital marketing space, YEA is gradually becoming digitally-inclined and has taken several steps forward in providing innovative solutions to the modern-day problems affecting the artisanal landscape in Ghana.”

 “YEA has been very instrumental in the Agenda for Jobs of the NPP Government through rollouts of traditional modules, entrepreneurial modules and artisanal modules. The YEA Job Centre also connects job seekers to employers online and has facilitated the recruitment of thousands of young men and women into the private sector and NGO jobs in the country. Today, YEA has broadened its partnership with the private sector under the Business and Employment Assistant Programme and has provided human resource assistance to many certified small and medium scale enterprises across the country.” 

Dr Bawumia challenged the graduates to continually seek knowledge and further skills, saying, “Your training comes with a prize – a prize of distinguishing yourselves as credible Artisans not only in moulding products and providing services to your clients but credibility which hinges on character, hard work and transparency in your career journey.” 

“As you transition into the world of work, never feel secure and technically efficient because you have been certified to work as an Aluminum Fabricator or Carpenter but aspire to take opportunities to build your capacities.”