Members of the group were trained in disciplines such as fashion designing, steel bending, interior and exterior decorations, spraying, auto electricals and mechanics and bead-making.

The rest of the courses were welding, shoe making, bakery, cooking, masonry, catering, carpentry, plumbing, tailoring, hairdressing, make-up and fabrication.

The graduands, who spent different periods ranging from six months to two years, depending on the type of course, were also given start-up kits.

The course was organised by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) under its skilled artisans project in partnership with ASEDA Foundation.

Oil resources

At the graduation ceremony held last Thursday, the Chief Executive Officer of GNPC, Opoku Awenee Danquah, said his outfit was mandated to exploit the country's oil resources to enable Ghanaians to benefit from the funds accrued from the business.

He said that was what the GNPC was currently doing, adding that it was the funds that were being used to train the artisans and also assist them with working tools to start their own businesses.

Mr Danquah said the package had to primarily benefit rural dwellers because they had little chance to pursue higher educational programmes that would enable them to make a living and also cater for their families and dependents.

He said companies were not focusing on the vocational training of rural folks, which was why the GNPC had started doing that to better the lot of the people who could not access higher education.

He explained that the GNPC was, therefore, honouring its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to better the living standard of the people by giving them certificates and working tools to start their businesses.

Kits not for sale

The GNPC CEO advised the beneficiaries not to sell the start-up kits but to use them to generate income.

The Board Chairman of GNPC, Freddie Blay, stated that the programme would not be a nine-day wonder but it would be sustained to cover the underprivileged in all parts of the country.

He asked the beneficiaries to use the working tools to expand their businesses in such a way that it would benefit their communities.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, expressed his gratitude to the GNPC for organising the courses for the artisans and also providing them with working tools.

Odeneho Kwaffo Akoto III, the Omanhene of Akwamu, who chaired the function, said not everybody would be privileged to be taken through such training programmes and that it had been a blessing for the beneficiaries and their families.

Odeneho Akoto suggested that apprenticeship training should also embrace males because females normally out-numbered them.

A beneficiary from Adawso, Emmanuel Kwaming, who was trained in welding, said now that he had the tools, he would be able to start his own business.

Another beneficiary from Koforidua, a seamstress, Henrietta Osei Appiah, was highly elated because she would now be in a position to set up her own business and employ others.