NABCO will build capacity of graduates - Agyei Baffoe

Mr. Thomas Agyei Baffoe, the Deputy Central Regional Minister has advised graduates to disregard the erroneous political misconceptions about the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) and register to build their capacities to overcome unemployment after school.

The programme is geared towards empowering young graduates with practical knowledge, employable skills and experience about the world of work to improve their professional competences for the job market.

It is intended to address holistically, the twin challenge of youth unemployment and poverty to enhance the dignity and self-esteem of graduates.

The Minister was speaking at the Regional National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) Mini Congress for the induction of new executives held on Wednesday in Cape Coast.

Though NABCO is an interim job creation initiative, he explained that it would offer 100,000 graduates with jobs annually with Ghc700.00 monthly stipends to reduce over-dependence on their families and also offer them some skills.

Mr Agyei Baffoe advised the youth especially graduates not to give in to fear of failure, but inculcate entrepreneurial spirit, take risks, be creative and smart and acquire employable skills to break through the high level of youth unemployment across the country.

They should believe in their professional competences and initiate bold moves to put their skills to good use by exploring the advantages the nation's decades of peaceful atmosphere presented instead of looking up to Government for employment.



The Deputy Regional Minister re-stated Government's commitment to support the private sector due to its crucial role it plays in the country’s developmental agenda, and reassured that it would continue to create the enabling environment for private sector to succeed.

“The private sector must team up with Government to execute the country’s development agenda to expand the economy as Government finds pragmatic ways of providing technical and financial support to expand their production capacities to employ more, he added.

The private sector he indicated must express interest in partnering Government and backed with a solid business plan it could play a key role in many of the nation’s policy interventions.

In that regard, he stated that the Government had introduced various micro-finance schemes and capital fund with flexible terms for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), start-up capital fund among others to provide sustainable and effective long term finance support to boost the sector.

Mr Jonas Kofi Arhin, Director of Operations of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP) challenged graduates to take their destinies into their own hands by coming out with innovative ideas to establish their own businesses for financial emancipation.

The move, he stated had become necessary in view of the large numbers of unemployed graduates parading various offices on daily basis in search for jobs.

According to him, what graduates lack was not the energy or desire to create wealth or jobs for themselves, instead the know-how because funding for entrepreneurship is not the biggest problem but the vision, adding that they must start their own small businesses - with time it would grow for them to reap the desired benefits.

All one need was to have a clear vision to solve a particular need with a passionate desire adding that together with a clear strategy and plan, they could have access to sources of funding to start a business.