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The African Freelancers (TAF) College, a tuition-free applied business school of creativity and entrepreneurship, has held its maiden graduation ceremony in Accra, during which 115 students graduated.
The graduation is a key milestone in the college’s mission of transforming school drop-outs and unemployed youth into creative entrepreneurs by equipping them with innovative enterprise development skills in various fields.
The graduating students, some of whom are from Cameroun, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, were trained in graphic designing, cinematography, music production, digital marketing, cosmetology, fashion design, real estate management and event management, among others.
The Founder and President of TAF College, Rev. Johnnie Oquaye, in his address, described the graduation as a result of hard work over the past year, in pursuing the objective of “forging a path where creative talents across Africa could flourish, unhindered by financial obstacles and social barriers.”
With the financial and logistical support of donors, including HACSA Foundation, he said the college had been able to train more than100 students in various fields.
In addition, he said through its partnership with the HACSA Foundation under their Tech4Girls Programme, the college had empowered an additional 10 aspiring female coders to pursue their aspirations in the technology sector.
As part of its expansion drive in the second year, Rev. Oquaye announced that the college would soon open an Artificial Intelligence Department that would provide quality training in that area to enable students to take advantage of opportunities in the fast-growing AI industry.
Rev. Oquaye expressed appreciation to all donors for their continuous support, and praised the lecturers for their sacrifices, which included taking only 40 per cent of their salaries, to support the vision.
In his keynote address, an industrialist, Togbi Goba Tenge, urged the graduands to be dedicated to duty and eschew all forms of dishonesty and laziness.
"Get into job creation with honesty and focus while setting new standards, and work hard in any environment you find yourselves,” he said.
Togbi Goba Tenge, who is also an International Peace Ambassador, urged the graduates to form cooperatives and must not be in a hurry to amass wealth, but be patient and show tolerance in their work.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana,Charles Abani, urged young people to explore key elements of development including job creation, food security, digitisation, energy, climate change and education to impact positively on the country.
He urged the graduands to "engage in partnerships to build their enterprises, and remember to give back to sustain the college to benefit future generations."
Ambassador Johanna Svanikier, Founder and President of The HACSA Foundation, commended the management of the college for the quality skills training and the continuous expansion of the training programmes, and assured the school of enhanced collaboration, especially in equipping girls with ICT skills.
For his part, the Executive Director of Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling, Nana Gyamfi Adwabour, charged the graduands to enhance their digital skills in addition to the other skills they acquired at TAF.
"Have a growth mindset and keep improving to impact the world. Let Ghana see the benefit of what you have learned,” he said, and assured the college of government’s collaboration.
Dignitaries who graced the event included Professor Mike Oquaye, a former Speaker of Parliament.
