Technical education best for youth empowerment and entrepreneurial skills — DABTECH Principal

Technical education is the most effective means to provide the youth with long-term empowerment and entrepreneurial skills for jobs and livelihoods, resulting in poverty alleviation and economic emancipation.

This therefore calls for partnership and collaboration for sustainability in providing quality education and skills training to the younger generation to enhance entrepreneurship and job opportunities to bridge the gender gap.

In view of that, Technical institutions are committed to providing a safe environment for the training sessions in imbibing in the youth especially young women and girls, the spirit of entrepreneurship.

Principal of Dabokpa Technical Institute (DABTECH) Madam Mariama Mahama announced this at the opening ceremony of the World Food Programme (WFP) Renault truck two-week training course on automobile repairs for 20 Women’s Economic Empowerment in North-Ghana (WEE-NORTH) project graduate trainees at DABTECH in Tamale of the Northern Region.

The initiative by the WEE-NORTH project under Alinea Foundation, a non-governmental women empowerment organisation in collaboration with DABTECH AND WFP with support from Renault Trucks on basic mechanical principals and truck configuration aimed at providing technical and entrepreneurship skills to young girls for economic empowerment in the North.

The young girls were selected from the engine repair, electrical installation, building and construction technology, tile laying technology, plumbing, and wood construction technology departments.

The five year project from 2023-2027 on capacity strengthening project led by WFP is to deliver training in West Africa of which about 151 participants across West Africa so far benefitted from the United Nations Humanitarian response depot since its inception in 2023.

Madam Mahama commended WEE-North and WFP for the effort in enhancing the capacity of young women in the North of industrial activities to enable them become future entrepreneurs.

She expressed acknowledgement to WFP for providing industry training to help improve the skills of the young girls.

She called for partnership to build a better future for young girls in the fight against hunger in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2.

Head of Sub-office WFP Ms. Gyamila Abdul-Wahabi, said, promoting inclusivity and gender equality is key to growing resilient supply chains and improving livelihoods across West Africa has been the hallmark of WFP.

WFP developed the transport training center to strengthen regional value chain while impacting positively food safety and security she said.

It is also to empower women and youth in road transport logistics through training of under-presented groups in the transport sector she added.

“ In pursuit of WFP’s gender policy with its goal of women and youth empowerment, we would continue to partner WEE-North project to offer more opportunities to young women and girls in Northern Ghana by delivering skills training across the transport value chain to enable them earn a decent living,” she said.

Field Coordinator at WEE-North Dr. Nancy Drost said the foundation was committed to providing high quality, intensive training in selected industrial trades for young women to build their hands-on skills.

“We would continue to provide the needed support to empower the young girls for their chosen career,” she said.

She urged young women and girls to take advantage of the opportunities to build their future careers in order to be independent to curb the poverty rates and the reliance on government for jobs.