The Registration of the second edition of the Skilled Artisan Project has begun in the southern sector of Ghana to admit 2000 youth. The exercise, which includes data collection is currently underway in 6 regions namely, Greater Accra, Eastern, Ashanti, Central, Western and Western North regions.
The first stage of the project, which will see the enrollment of young artisans into the social livelihood empowerment programme, aims at providing training and enhanced skills to the youth.
Mr. Kwame Karikari, Team Lead of the Economic Empowerment Unit of the GNPC Foundation, explained that the project, which is being implemented in collaboration with ASEDA Foundation, will take the artisans through various refresher training in plumbing, fashion, carpentry, auto-mechanics, general electrical, and aluminum fabrication among others.
Registered artisans will sit for the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) Examination for certification in August as well as undergo soft skills training to give them exposure to the standards of business and entrepreneurship in October this year.
The Business Advisory Centre (BAC) of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), will take the artisans through course models such as Book-keeping, Marketing/ Sales, Branding, Customer Relations, Attitude to Work, Safety at Work and Entrepreneurship.
After a successful programme, the artisans will undergo a graduation ceremony where each would be handed a set of tools relevant to their skills to help set them up for their entrepreneurial journeys.
The artisans, who are being selected with the help of the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), must, among other standard considerations, satisfy the following criteria.
- Must be a citizen of Ghana and resident within the administrative area.
- Must be at least 18 years old.
- Should have been an apprentice in the chosen trade area for at least 2 years.
- Master of beneficiary must certify that he/she is ready and competent to take the exams.
- Beneficiary must demonstrate practical and oral competence in the chosen trade area.
Source: GNPC Foundation
