Labour Department to be rebranded
The Labour Department of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations is to be rebranded. It will operate under a new name, the National Employment Centre (NEC), President John Dramani Mahama has announced.
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He said the regional offices of the centre would, among other things, build a database of young people and their acquired skills to make it easier for employers to search online for their much-needed human resource.
Speaking at the national celebration of International Youth Day in Accra yesterday, the President said it was the intention of the government to give tax relief to employers who would employ people from the database as a way of motivating them to sustain the practice.
President Mahama said he had asked the incoming Minister of Employment and Labour Relations,, Mr Haruna Iddrisu to give the programme its utmost attention to ensure early implementation.
The celebration, put together by the National Youth Authority (NYA), was on the theme, "Investing in young people, the key to Ghana's transformation and economic development".
Competitive world
The youth of today, President Mahama said, were growing up in a very competitive world, a situation which called for the country to stand behind them to meet their aspirations.
"The competition for jobs is real and Ghana cannot compete globally if we keep doing the same things and expect different results,” he said.
He said that was the reason the government was embarking on entrepreneurship development programmes to enable young people to remain competitive on the job market.
President Mahama said a new bill for the restructuring of the Ghana Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment Development Agency (GYEEDA) would be placed before Parliament when it reconvened.
While renewing the commitment of the government to advancing the cause of the youth, the President also paid tribute to young people who had, in various ways, contributed to the building of the nation.
Education
Touching on the community day senior high schools (SHSs) which the government intends to build in the country, he said land for the first batch of 50 schools had been handed to the government and funds had been mobilised for the projects.
Twenty-three more schools would be added to the 50, following a provision made under the new World Bank facility for the nation, he said, adding that under the same World Bank facility, many existing SHSs would benefit from projects such as classrooms.
While those projects were being pursued, the President said, what was important was how the youth would be able to find jobs after school.
National Youth Policy
President Mahama expressed delight at the progress made in advancing the implementation plan of the National Youth Policy, adding that the plan would be launched on Africa Youth Day this year.
He said the challenges Ghana faced were surmountable and called on the people to join hands with the government to address them.
He pledged to continue to demonstrate his commitment to lead the nation in a manner that would build bridges.
The National Coordinator of the NYA, Mr Ras Mubarak, said the authority had identified entrepreneurship as the solution to the unemployment challenges facing the youth.
He appealed to the government to consider giving tax incentives to banks that would provide support for the youth to set up their own businesses.