The fair, which had the theme “Connecting to Future Prospects: Skilling the Youth,” was organised to coincide with the European Year of Skills.

The fair, saw young men and women trained in skills such as solar lighting, catering, cosmology, and forklift operation display their skills and be given the opportunity to interact with captains of industries for possible placement and employment opportunities.

Ms. Romana Simon, the Deputy Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Ghana, said in an address that the fair, which was an annual event, was aimed at bridging the industry-academia skills gap in Ghana.

Ms. Simon noted that the networking and matchmaking event provided the graduating students with the platform to demonstrate their skills and technical knowledge acquired in their field of training.

She said the fair was the climax of the successful cooperation between Don Bosco Technical Institute and the German Development Cooperation in equipping the Ghanaian youth with market-oriented technical and vocational skills in the fields of automobile, electrical and electronics, hospitality, and logistics and warehousing.

“This partnership project falls within the framework of Invest for Jobs, the brand of the Special Initiative ‘Decent Work for a Just Transition,’ an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Investment for Jobs is implemented, among others, by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH,” she said.

Madam Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, the Country Director of GIZ Ghana, indicated for her part that in the last two years, the German Development Cooperation has helped train about 80,000 individuals (about the seating capacity of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) in various short-term courses through the GIZ and other partners.

Madam Barbosa noted that promoting industry-specific skills was a must to enable the unemployed and underemployed youth to access jobs and fair employment conditions, adding that so far, about 1,200 young people had been trained in numerous vocational and technical disciplines since 2020 when the partnership project commenced.

She said with a financial commitment of one million euros through the German Federal Government into the project, their objective was to train 2,000 young people and establish 70 percent of them in local industries by the end of 2023.
Irchad Razaaly, the Ambassador of the European Union of Ghana, stated that one of the EU’s main priorities was to support and include youth to contribute to prosperity and economic growth, adding that in Ghana, they were supporting over 100,000 talented young people to achieve their professional ambitions and make valuable contributions to their communities.

He added that it was important to focus on the youth because a young, dynamic, and skilled workforce reduced unemployment and boosted sustainable and inclusive growth.

He said two new collaborations had started in partnership with the Italian NGO VIS and several other European institutions in the framework of Erasmus+, the EU flagship initiative for education, aimed at enhancing the dialogue between the private sector and training institutions and promoting entrepreneurship.

Rev. Fr. Mark Eshun, Principal of Don Bosco Technical Institute, Ghana, reminded stakeholders in a welcome speech that the success of Ghana’s industrial transformation quest, among other factors, was hinged on a well-equipped and skilled workforce that met the changing demands of the industry.

Rev. Fr. Eshun said, “There is a need to empower our young women and men with both soft and technical skills that are in demand by industry to enable them to access various career opportunities while reducing the youth unemployment rate in Ghana, and this is a high priority for Don Bosco Technical Institute.”

Madam Kate Quartey-Papafio, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Reroy Cables, in a motivational message, encouraged the youth to sharpen their skills, add value to themselves, and aspire to create their own jobs.