YAP is an initiative to provide free technical and vocational training as well as entrepreneurial skills to the youth to equip them with employable skills to start and manage their own businesses.

Two hundred and fifty (250) youth have been selected to be trained this year under the programme, which is financially supported by the Opportunity International Network. They will be provided with tools and equipment needed for their apprenticeship training and placed under selected trade masters of their chosen trades over a period of three years.

In addition, the beneficiaries will be registered by Sinabi Aba, to sit and write the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) examination, after the completion of their training. This year’s launch was on the theme, “YAP: Transforming Lives” Mrs. Margarete Owusu Asare, the Program Coordinator, said over 2,000 youth from seven regions had benefitted from the program since its inception in 2003.

She said the initiative had over the years provided hope for most beneficiaries who had successfully graduated and currently doing their own businesses. Mrs Asare said this year, the beneficiaries would receive business skills training from the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) to adequately prepare them to grow and sustain their businesses.

They would also be taken through health education programs to expose them to the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive health. This, according to her, was very important as some of the beneficiaries were not able to go through the training successfully due to pregnancy.

Mrs. Theodosia Jackson, a Counsellor and Principal of Jackson College of Education, advised the beneficiaries to focus on their training and avoid acts that would lead to unwanted pregnancies and truncate their ambitions. She urged parents not to shirk their responsibilities because of the support by Sinapi Aba.

They should rather, provide their basic needs and pay regular visits to their workplaces to monitor their progress.