It was held in all seven garrisons across the country to give them employable and productive skills to enable them to support their families.

A total of  5,000 beneficiaries were trained in bead-making, fascinator and bridal fans, soap making, flower arrangement, confectionaries, selected food dishes, hair and body pomades, juice and ice cream making and preservatives.

They were also trained in home management, entrepreneurship, marketing skills, as well as packaging and branding.

Speaking at the closing ceremony at Burma Camp in Accra, the Second Lady, Mrs Samira Bawumia,said over the years progress had been made in improving the quality of life of women, but more was left to be done.

She said there was the need for honest conversations on thequestion of equal business opportunities and remuneration for women.

She said the government was committed to engendering an entrepreneurial drive in Ghanaian women.

To the beneficiaries of the programme, Mrs Bawumia said “ your success in life  won’t be determined just by what is given  or what happens to you, but by what you do, how hard you try, how much  you push  yourself  and how far you’re willing to go.”

She urged the women to be confident, create opportunities out of their adversities and challenges,  adding they were capable of achieving whatever goals they set  for themselves.

 The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Mrs KosiYankey-Ayeh, said according to the World Bank, to succeed in the 21st century labour market, one needs a comprehensive skill set composed of cognitive, socio-economic, technical and digital skills.

She mentioned that development skills would help contribute to structural transformation and economic growth and help countries to become more competitive.

She said her outfit had received support from the Mastercard Foundation under the Young Africa Works project, especially under its apprenticeship to entrepreneurship component to equip over 4,000 women and youth with skills.

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh said through the support the agency had equipped and graduated over 13,000 apprentices across the country, adding that “what we are witnessing today, the graduation of these 4,000 beneficiaries also forms a part of our joint efforts with the Armed Forces to have provided requisite skills to change lives and created dignified and fulfilling jobs.”

 She urged the beneficiaries to use the skills acquired to identify business opportunities and act on them.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, said the training was in line with government’s agenda for job creation.

He said participants were also drawn from the Police, Immigration, Prisons and Fire Services as well as from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).