'100,000 NaBCO trainees ready for work' – President Akufo-Addo

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is confident of the success of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) programme, explaining that in the National Builders Corps programme, the seeds for Ghana’s growth and future have been planted.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 17th October 2018, when he declared the one hundred thousand young men and women recruited under NABCO ready for work, at an event at the Black Star Square, Accra.

Describing the day as “a very happy day for me”, the President indicated that the NABCO programme represents the beginning of “the process of banishing the spectre of desperation, and restoring hope and dignity to our youth.”

Commending the 100,000 NABCO trainees for not listening to the loud cries of the cynics and ‘Jeremiahs’ who cast aspersions on the programme, he indicated that the trainees “are going to assist in the realisation of Government’s vision of an educated population, an industrialised, robust and well-managed economy, the delivery of good governance, and, for the sustenance of all these, a reliable, skilled and efficient workforce.”

Additionally, the NABCO trainees, President Akufo-Addo said, will be engaged in a structured work and learning programme environment, where, for every four weeks of work, one week will be dedicated to acquiring soft, future employability, and work readiness skills.

“Within three years, NABCO trainees would have obtained 36 weeks of solid training and value addition to enable them to transition smoothly into the world of permanent work. By this, we would have also addressed the very issue that keeps our graduates out of the labour market, in spite of their educational qualifications,” he stressed.

The managers of the programme, the President emphasised, have struck up a partnership with the Council for Technical, Vocational and Educational Training (COTVET), and some universities, both domestic and foreign, for the validation of the content of the learning programmes, so that the trainees receive appropriate certification of their skills and training for their deployment.

With exit strategies clearly defined, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the public services and institutions, having benefitted from the services of NABCO trainees over the three-year period, will, naturally, have opportunities that allow the retention of trainees, who have justified their value.

Another pathway, the President added, is the building of an entrepreneurial base among the trainees, where five hundred business leaders will mentor 500 NABCO trainees under the Enterprise Ghana module.

“A dedicated fund, amounting to the equivalent of their third-year allowances, is to be made available for them to start their co-operative ventures. An equivalent matching fund will be sourced from a private investor to complement the GH¢4.5 million fund,” he said.

Again, trainees under the “Educate Ghana” module will have the opportunity to undertake further studies at the University College of Education Winneba, and University of Cape in the early childhood care and development sector, after which careers will be guaranteed.

President Akufo-Addo admonished the NABCO trainees to be dutiful and productive in the areas they have been assigned, and demonstrate, on a daily basis, that they value knowledge as a basis for effective performance and productivity.

“You must show your professional credentials through timeliness and punctuality, and, above all, live beyond reproach so you can discharge your responsibilities with efficiency, so that all, at the end of the day, can vouch for your integrity. Your performance will be monitored through an innovate mobile application, which will be deployed soon,” he added.

NABCO trainees, the President reiterated, must bear in mind that Government is investing some GH¢3 billion of taxpayer’s money into this programme.

“Your monthly stipend of 700 Ghana cedis is not free money, and you must earn every pesewa of it through hard work and dedication, which I am confident you will do,” he stressed.

President Akufo-Addo urged Ghanaians, who will feel the presence and contribution of the 100,000 NABCO trainees in their towns and villages, and in critical sectors of the economy to work with them, “and believe that, together, we can build a progressive and prosperous nation, the equal of any on the face of the planet.”

Whilst paying tribute to the invaluable contribution of “my brilliant Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and his hardworking team” for the NABCO initiative, the President urged the 100,000 young men and women to help build a nation they will be proud of.

“Live by the core values of knowledge, punctuality and integrity. Live as nation builders. Let us, together, fulfil the dreams of progress and prosperity that animated the great patriots whose toil and sacrifice brought us our freedom and independence,” President Akufo-Addo added.