362 young people presented with Head of State Award

This year’s Head of State Awards ceremony has been held, with 362 Head of State Award awardees, Duke of Edinburgh Gold awardees and exceptional individuals being honoured. 

The awardees, by dint of hard work, have consistently contributed to the socio-economic growth and development of the country.

The ceremony was on the theme: “Building the future, enhancing youth skills and employability.”

Background

The 362 young people had completed the HOSA Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and demonstrated excellence in leadership and service to the community.

Out of that, 245 awardees, representing 67.7 per cent, were females, while 117 representing 32.3 per cent were males.

Among them were two institutions and 80 remarkable individuals who were said to have been development-focused towards the sustainable growth of the country for the HOSA special earnings.

Through the structured award framework of non-formal education and learning, the award scheme challenged, inspired and empowered young people over the last operational year.

Nurture young people

Speaking at the ceremony at the Jubilee House last Friday evening, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo underscored the need for collective efforts to nurture the potential of young people.

That, he said, would also help create pathways for young people to thrive in a fast-changing world as the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital transformation, green economies and innovation-based industries meant that the skills of yesterday might no longer suffice.

“We are thus not just preparing the youth to meet the demands of today but also equipping them to lead in the world of tomorrow,” he stated.

President Akufo-Addo said there was a young, dynamic and vibrant population whose talents and innovation held the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

“The youth are the backbone of our country. Some 57 per cent of the population of Ghana is under the age of 25, making us a youthful nation with boundless potential,” he pointed out but said this demographic dividend was not automatically a blessing.

He indicated that it required deliberate investment, forward-looking policies and a relentless focus on equipping young people with the skills they needed to compete and succeed globally.

Free SHS

While touting his youth-focused policies in the last eight years, President Akufo-Addo said the introduction of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy in 2017 had enabled some 5.7 million young Ghanaians to access secondary education and ensured that no talent was left behind due to financial constraints.

In addition, he said, his government had championed the free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) policy to also ensure that vocational and technical skills were given the prominence they deserved. “Our aim is clear; to empower young people not just to see jobs but also to create them,” he added, describing the results as “encouraging.”

The President expressed delight that technical and vocational education had become the preferred choice of many young people for the first time in the history of the country and said that was proof of the value the government placed on practical skills-based learning.

Private sector

President Akufo-Addo further mentioned the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) which, he said, was introduced with support from the private sector and explained that the programme was designed to provide skills training, mentorship and start-up funding for young entrepreneurs.

Above all, he said, the Youth Start initiative had been a game-changer in offering financial and technical support to youth-led businesses.

“One area of strategic focus has been the digital economy. We are living in a world driven by technology, and Ghana must be at the forefront of this transformation,” the President emphasised.

Climate change

Touching on climate change, President Akufo-Addo said it was real, and stated that the youth needed to be prepared for opportunities in green jobs and sustainable industries.

He, therefore, mentioned the Green Ghana Project and the Climate Prosperity Plan and said through these initiatives government was creating avenues for young people to engage in reforestation, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.

Apply lessons learnt

The Executive Director of the Head of State Award, Peter Akai Anum, said the awards continued to make an impact on communities across the country by enhancing the employable skills of young people.

He advised the gold award winners to remember the lessons they learnt as they stepped into the future through the award programme and urged them to continue to embrace challenges with the same courage and determination they had displayed.

Over the next five years, “we want to visually scale up our reach and widen our access to all young people between the ages of 14 and 24 years in the country,” Mr Anum said.