The Director of Procurement for the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Yaw Asamoah Buckman, has clarified that the agency’s impact extends far beyond the well-known recruitment of assistants for Ghana’s security services.
While the YEA does maintain modules where individuals provide support roles within the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana National Fire Service, and the Ghana Prisons Service, these represent only a fraction of the agency’s reach.
These specific initiatives were designed to create temporary employment for young applicants who, despite their qualifications, were unable to secure spots within the limited recruitment cycles of the national security sector.
According to the director, these modules serve as a vital “buffer”, absorbing a portion of the thousands of young people who regularly apply for enlistment but are turned away due to a lack of vacancies.
Beyond the security-focused modules, the director emphasised that the agency offers equally valuable opportunities in various diverse fields. These include agricultural initiatives such as animal rearing and commercial farming, as well as production efforts like sustainable charcoal production.
Additionally, the agency provides training in essential technical trades, including tile laying, carpentry, and cosmetology, to ensure a well-rounded approach to vocational development.
The core objective, he stated, is to provide a multifaceted solution to Ghana’s ongoing unemployment crisis.
During an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, the director elaborated on the scale of these efforts. “We are trying to resolve the unemployment situation in Ghana. It is not an easy journey. Several individuals are unemployed, and we keep getting messages from those seeking job opportunities. That is why we have different modules training people in various fields, including makeup, tile laying, and carpentry. Through these artisanal modules, we have established people who now run their own businesses.”
He further noted that public perception is often skewed toward the security modules, despite the artisanal programmes being significantly larger. “Usually, people focus on the youth in the police and fire services when we talk about YEA. But the artisanal people are more than those in the security assistant services. We have about 85,000 beneficiaries under the artisanal module. President John Dramani Mahama referenced this in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) and commended YEA.”
He noted that the YEA operates its own farms. These facilities have already begun yielding results, with harvests—including maize—being distributed to local schools to support national food security.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana