The first batch of 15 out of 25 trainees that underwent a year training course in
sewing and other entrepreneurial skills organized by Youth Harvest Foundation
Ghana(YHFG) at the weekend passed out at a graduation ceremony held in the
Bolgatanga Municipality.

The graduants who were offered the opportunity to develop and present business
plans for consideration, were also taken through skill training in quality control
and reproductive health under a special project dubbed: Seamstresses Training
Enterprise Project in the Upper East Region (STEP-UP).
The project is being spearheaded by Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana (YHFG) with
financial support from the UN-Habitat.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony the Financial Administrative Officer of
YHFG, David Ayine explained that the project among other interventions seeks to
offer opportunity annually for 25 seamstresses in the municipality to be trained
with the aim of reducing poverty among the youth, particularly girls.
“Currently, four projects are running alongside the STEP-UP project with focus
on equipping young people with entrepreneurial and employable skills for self-
reliance and sustainability.”, the Financial Administrative Officer of YHFG
disclosed.
He explained that the strategy for adopting the STEP-UP project was to assist
the trainees set up their own businesses by training them on how to develop business
plans that would attract financial support from financial institutions to help them
set up their own businesses.
He explained that although the project did not provide money directly for the
implementation of the plans, they were in the position to link these plans to other
concerned organizations, particularly, the Local Enterprise and Skills Development
Program (LESDEP) and other financial institutions for consideration.
Mr Ayine, encouraged the graduants to focus on developing their talent and take
advantage of the project in order to prepare themselves adequately for the job
market.
According to him, the training offered to the graduants gave them the
comparative advantage over other seamstresses already on the job market and further
urged them to develop the right attitude towards work.
Mr Ayine expressed his outfit gratitude to LESDEP, UN-Habitat and the Municipal
Assembly for their invaluable support and anticipated more support in the ensuing
years.
The Regional Coordinator OF THE National Youth Council, Mr Daud James Abang-gos
emphasized the need for refresher training programmes for the graduants to sharpen
their skills and also encouraged the graduants to come under one umbrella to form
cooperatives.
This, he noted, would empower them to easily get support from organizations to
improve upon their businesses. The 15 graduants were later presented with
certificates of participation.