13,114 Community Protection Personnel complete training

Thirteen thousand, one hundred and fourteen Community Protection Personnel (CPP) yesterday passed out after undergoing a three-week intensive training at the various police training schools across the country. About 15,000 people are expected to be engaged under the programme.

The personnel will be engaged on a two-year contract which could be extended after a post-performance review. They will be deployed to serve in communities across the country.

The training, which is under the Youth Employment Agency’s (YEA) Community Service and Security module, was carried out with the support of the Ghana Police Service who also played a major role in the recruitment exercise.

Some of the courses the personnel studied included democratic principles, criminal investigations, crime scene and traffic management.

Potentials

The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who reviewed the parade, emphasised the need to harness the potential of the youth for the accelerated development of the country.

He said it was for this reason that the government was investing in the education and training of the youth because “there is a significant social and economic cost when we do not fully use the skills and the time of the youth.”

Dr Bawumia said young people often suffered from social exclusion, thus making them join anti-social groups and also indulge in activities that were not beneficial to themselves and to society.

“Being unemployed or underemployed means we are not using their skills to earn income. Joblessness and poverty, therefore, often result in social conflicts, including violence and juvenile delinquency,” Dr Bawumia added.

The Vice-President further stated that a nation could not develop a stronger and resilient economy without paying attention to accessible and quality education.

He said it was in this regard that the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy by the government was introduced.

Job opportunities

Dr Bawumia also indicated that the Community Policing Protection module was a significant milestone in the provision of jobs for the youth to improve on their economic conditions.

“With an increasing quest by the young people of Ghana to secure jobs to advance their lives, government has a responsibility to ensure quicker and worthwhile avenues to integrate the youth into the job market. In addition to ensuring greater access to school and high quality education, our focus as government has been to foster youth economic inclusion and this is being done by encouraging youth entrepreneurship, accelerating the growth of youth owned and managed enterprises and promoting youth self-employment and innovation as the sure means of building an economy for the future,” he stated.

He said the government would continue to create an enabling environment and support private businesses to thrive so that they could absorb more young people into active employment.

Dr Bawumia commended Ms Vera Owusu, the Overall Best Personnel, for distinguishing herself during the training.

Exit plan

The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, said the CPP programme had an exit plan which included building the capacity and skills of the personnel.

He stated that personnel who would excel in their duties stood a chance of being recruited into the police service during the general recruitment exercise.

The minister also announced the establishment of a beneficiary management and support unit which would be in charge of the welfare of beneficiaries.