A seven-day Career Development Workshop has been organized by the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM) at Komenda for some youth in the Region.
It was held under the theme: "Grassroots Entrepreneurship" and drew 40 participants, including four men, who were trained in soap making, records keeping and home management.
The Women and Development Unit of the Commission organized the training in fulfillment of its mandate to promote socio-economic development of the youth, especially women of the Region towards poverty reduction and better
standard of living.
Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, Central Regional Minister and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of CEDECOM, in a speech read on her behalf to close the workshop, said the government's vision to create jobs for the teeming youth would be achieved with the support of the private sector.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe noted with concern how some people who had been trained with government resources to acquire skills to make them self-employed had been going round the Ministries and Departments searching for jobs.
"It is not only people on government payrolls are regarded as being in employment", she said, and added that some people in the private sector are doing even better than some of the people in the formal sector.
The Regional Minister urged the youth not to look down on the private sector as a source of employment.
She appealed to the participants to put what they had been taught at the workshop to good use to make it a source of livelihood for them and for the benefit of their families.
Mr Spencer Taylor, Acting Executive Director, said CEDECOM was in contact with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (SCIR) to assist trainees of the Commission to improve the quality of their products especially packaging, to make them attractive in the markets.
He urged them to pool resources to expand their businesses.
Mrs Georgina Bentum, Head, Women and Development Unit of CEDECOM, pointed out that the Commission had targeted women in its programmes because they hold the key to development.
She urged the participants to observe business ethics so that their products would get patronage.
The Very Reverend Arko Mensah, Superintendent Minister of the Komenda
Circuit of the Methodist Church who chaired the function, commended CEDECOM for organising the workshop and urged the participants to make good use of what they had learnt.