Ashanti Region Is The Biggest Beneficiary Of YEA Created Jobs, Earning 16,617 - CEO

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Youth Employment Agency ( YEA), Kofi Baah Agyepong has detailed out how the Ashanti Region ended the year 2023 as the biggest beneficiary of the thousands of jobs created by the agency.

Speaking at a press conference in Kumasi, the CEO revealed that the region secured 16,617 jobs representing the highest number in the year 2023.

“We have been at the forefront supporting businesses to expand and employ more people. Through our partnership with relevant state agencies we have also been training the youth with skills capable of putting them in an entrepreneurship pathway. Through our Job Centre, we have become a leader in employment promotion by connecting job seekers directly to companies,” he stressed.

Kofi Baah Agyepong detailed out that in 2022/2023, the government of Ghana through YEA recruited:
* 15,000 Community Protection Assistants working with the Ghana Police Service.
* 6,000 Community Health Workers working with the Ghana Health Service,
* 1,500 Prison Office Assistants working with the Ghana Prisons Service,
* 4,000 workers on the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme.
* 5,000 Insurance Agents for the National Insurance Commission with base pay.
* 13,000 direct jobs secured through the YEA Job Centre
* 2,000 dressmaking trainees undergoing apprenticeship training with GHC500 monthly support.

According to him, over 30,000 entrepreneurs trained by both the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) and the Ghana Library Board with support for set-ups, 2,000 young people trained by the Accra Digital Centre in Basic and Advanced IT skills.

Currently, he noted that YEA is recruiting another 20,000 young people to be trained and set up in 10 different trade areas being – carpentry, masonry, plumbing, hairdressing, beauty care, auto works, General Electricals, Plaster of Paris (POP), Steel Works, Welding and Fabrication and Painting.

Here is the data of the number of young people recruited from Ashanti Region alone in all these programmes.

* Community Protection Assistants (CPAs) – 2,782
* Community Health Workers (CHWs) – 1,481
* Prison Office Assistants (POAs) – 157
* Sanitation Module – 7,274
* 1,250 Insurance Agents with the National Insurance Commission
* 3,000 direct jobs through the YEA Job Centre
* 423 trainees under the Textiles and Garments/Dress-making programme
* 250 masons to be trained in Brick construction works fully funded by YEA with monthly stipends (A special programme for Ashanti Region alone under the Youth In Modern Building Technology programme)
* Textiles and Garment Companies – 154 (About 149 small and medium scale and 5 large garment companies)Well known Textile and Garment companies such as Unijay Fashion, Akaal Skill Development Academy located at Kwamo, Biob Luxuries Ltd located at Adum, Lydia Oppong Fashion Center located at Kentikrono and Amansan Skills Training Institute at Atonsu Agogo all received a little of GHS 92,000 support and the support funds have fully been released to them.

The small and medium textiles and garment companies are many but I will mention a few: JulyJu Collections, Fashion Immaculate De Danny Boy, Stiger Collections, Papa Wisdom Fashion and Training Center, Hour of Grace Fashions, Francis Agyemang Fashion Designs, Laurie’s Klodin, Allah Power Fashion Center, Tutu’s Fashion, Clean Stitch Design and many more, all in Ashanti Region.

In August 2023, the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) launched its Garment and Apparel Training and Employment Programme in Kumasi for youth with a passion for tailoring, dressmaking and industrial sewing.