The institutions are the National Youth Authority (NYA) and the National Service Scheme (NSS).

This was part of efforts to reaffirm the council’s commitment to developing the youth in the areas of skills, education and access to job opportunities.

The agreement would also offer mentorship opportunities for young people where past beneficiaries of British Council programmes would share their experiences and positively impact on the lives of the youth.

The British Council Country Director Ghana, Nii Doodo Dodoo, revealed this at the “Impacting Young Lives” summit last Friday to complement the institutions’ efforts in providing decent jobs for young people in the country.

Call to duty

Mr Doodo stated that the MoU was a call to duty to ensure that the basic human rights for a better life do not elude young people on the continent.

“We are convinced about the results that this will bring to young people in Ghana in the area of skills, education and access to opportunities”, he stated.

He recounted that in his youthful days, the council was his window to the world of skills, education and opportunity.

He explained that the council facilitated his first access to international work experience which led to the opportunity to access international education from Ghana.

“I have frequently run into people who recall with a lot of nostalgia how the British Council helped them on their life journey from when they were young people and created opportunities that made substantial contributions to what they have become now”, Mr Doodo stated.

According to research by World Bank, he said that half of Africa's population was under 25 years old and that between 2015 and 2035, each year is expected to add half a million more 15-year-olds.

With this number, Mr Doodo noted that about 300,000 new jobs would have to be created each year to absorb the increasing number of unemployed young people in the country.

The Country Director, therefore, said the situation presented both opportunities and challenges and that it was the council’s ambition to work with current and potential partners to use the opportunities to address the challenges that the situation presented.

Programmes

The Chief Executive Officer of NYA, Pius Hadzide, explained that the agency had implemented various programmes that addresses several facets of the development of the youth.

He mentioned some to include the Skills Towards Employability and Productivity (STEP) project which sought to provide skills training and artisanal apprenticeship to the youth to take advantage of employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for their livelihood.

“Under the 2022 Phase of the STEP, 1,000 beneficiaries, including persons with disabilities have been selected across the country and are being trained in hairdressing, dressmaking, cosmetology and satellite dish installation.

He assured the youth that the institution would explore new avenues for their development and open doors for them to interact with their counterparts, learn from their experiences and contribute to the world’s progress.