The Deputy Minister of Manpower Development and Employment, Mr. Joe Donkor has said employment generation has been given the foremost priority under funds generated from the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC).

Speaking at the national consultation and launch of the National Youth Employment Network (YEN) of Ghana in Accra yesterday, Mr. Donkor said in order to improve the quality of human resources in the country the government will establish ten more integrated community centres in addition to the existing sixty- three. This, he said, is to ensure that at least every district in the country has one centre to train people in vocational skills.

He said government is looking at other employment generating avenues in the technical and vocational sectors to recruit and train young people to establish their own businesses with government support.

The Country Coordinator of YEN, Mr. Emmanuel Edudzie said one billion young people between 15 and 24 years, 85% of whom come from developing countries are in the labour market with inadequate skills. He said high levels of unemployment and rapidly deteriorating standards of living are resulting in social unrest and dangerous levels of tension.

He called on the government to involve the youth in national issues because young people have shown that they can be intrepid innovators, productive workers and enterprising entrepreneurs given the opportunity.

The Director of the British Council, Mr. Terence Humphreys said one of the major aims of the council is to empower the youth to contribute their quota to national development.

The Egytian Ambassador, H.E. Moneim Talant who launched the network threw an invitation to all the youths in the country to attend the forthcoming Global Youth Employment Summit in Egypt this September.