ActionAid Ghana (AAG) has planned to build a multi-purpose youth centre in Bolgatanga to train the youth in the three Northern Regions.

The facility, which is expected to cost about 300, 000 Euros when completed early next year, would provide basic skills development training in the areas of Information Communication Technology, hairdressing, tailoring and other vocational skills to the youth.

The Country Director of AAG, Mr Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, who explained the rationale behind the facility during a sod-cutting ceremony in Bolgatanga, said government alone could not solve the problem of unemployment in the country, hence the intervention of his outfit.

He said: “It is the hope of AAG that this support will complement government’s efforts in tackling the problem of unemployment among the teaming youth in the country.

The project will help empower the youth economically and make them self-sustaining instead of loitering around and engaging in nefarious activities.”

The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Daniel Syme, who cut the sod for the project, lauded AAG for the support with its numerous interventions, and noted that the new project would help address the challenges confronting the youth.

He expressed regret about the poor performance among students at the Basic Examination Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Region, and noted that the Centre would help provide skills training to students who could not make it beyond the BECE level.

The Deputy Regional Minister admonished students not to see formal education as the only source of their livelihoods and entreated them to get enrolled in the skills development training programmes that would be organised by the centre.