In that regard, the NGO has held engagement meeting with dressmakers, designers, beauticians and hairdressers in the district to partner with them, identify and support their needy, but brilliant apprentices to enable them to acquire the needed skills for sustainable livelihood.

Such support will cover sustainability allowances, learning essentials, examinations and graduation fees, as well as start-up kits and capital for deserving graduates to set their own businesses in the localities.

The engagement meeting held at Nkoranza was on the theme "CBPA-GHANA Partner Trades Associations in the Bono East Region to support Women and Girls in Apprenticeship for Social Inclusion and Livelihood."

Mr. Mathias Segbefia, the Executive Director, CBPA-Ghana highlighted the vision of the NGO, saying it was committed to impart citizens with knowledge for sustainable socio-economic livelihoods.

"To build a better and sustainable society, there is the need to provide equal opportunity for men and women with emphasis on the girl-child," he stated, saying that, creating opportunities for the girl-child encouraged progressive development opportunities.

"If you support or train a woman, you are in effect, supporting a generation but, if you train a man, you achieve individual success," Mr Segbefia added.

The Executive Director said the contributions of the master apprentices and instructors were required to make the vision of the organisation a success and indicated the CBPA-Ghana's readiness to also create opportunities for the instructors to learn new skills and upgrade themselves too.

That would position them well to deliver quality skills training to their apprentices who learned under them in the local communities.

Mr.Francis Kongwie, the Organizer for Professional Garment Makers Association, expressed appreciation to the Executive Director for the initiative, saying the support would greatly help control rising teenage pregnancies in the Municipality.

He said because of the lack of family and financial support, many of the apprentices sought permission to engage in menial jobs to fend for themselves in the detriment of their training.

Some of them often engage in hawking, dish washing, and sometimes commercial sex work to raise funds for their training.

Present at the meeting were Mr John Kudawe, a Volunteer Programme Officer, CBPA-Ghana, as well as Madam Nana Martha Fofie, the President, Conservative Hairdresser's Association, and other instructors and master apprentices of the various trades in the Municipality.