Some youth in the Tamale and Sagnarigu Assemblies, who have acquired skills in the construction industry, have interacted with government institutions and construction industry players to build linkages between them for mutual benefits.
The interaction also formed part of efforts to improve access to information and support for young construction entrepreneurs, especially to government programmes and opportunities to promote the growth of their companies.
It was organised in Tamale by the Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS), a non-governmental organisation, as part of the implementation of the Pathways for Sustainable Employment for Youth and Women (PASEWAY) project, which started toward the end of 2019.
The PASEWAY project is a partnership led by Plan International Germany, and Plan International Ghana with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, and seeks to contribute to increased formal youth employment in decent work in the country by 2022.
Under the project, some youth in the Tamale Metropolis and the Sagnarigu Municipality were assisted to acquire skills in the construction sector such as tile laying, plumbing, masonry, electrical works amongst others to enhance their chances of creating their own jobs and or gaining employment.
Mr Mohammed Hardi Tijani, Executive Director of RAINS, who spoke during the event dubbed: “Youth Dialogue Session with Government Institutions and Construction Industry Players”, said it was also to initiative a youth-led advocacy to promote decent work environment for youth in the construction sector.
Mr Tijani said “Part of the barriers to youth employment in the construction sector is the limited opportunities and platforms for the youth to network with management of both government and private sector initiatives essential for them. It is for this reason that we have included these sessions in the project activities.”
Mr Martin Awane, Programme Coordinator at Dabokpa Technical Institute in Tamale said “There are a lot of opportunities in the construction sector for young people. Nowadays, a lot of buildings are springing up. People have to go to Accra or Kumasi to bring in labour. We should get the necessary skills to meet these demands.”
Mr Awane added that “Nowadays, tiling, POP works, steel bending, and painting opportunities abound in the construction industry. Everybody is building and it is a good market for the construction industry. It just takes the beneficiaries to get the right skills because it is important to do quality work. That is why we urge that they should take their time and learn these skills and own the skills and it will benefit them.”
Mr Desmond Kofi Kpeti, Director at Assured Plumbing Works said competition for jobs in the construction industry was high and advised young people in the sector to put in extra efforts to enable them achieve their goals.
Mr Abdul-Aziz Jafaru, Deputy Coordinating Director at the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly spoke about the existing opportunities at the assembly and how the youth could access them and advised them to register their operations with the assembly to be recognised for such opportunities.
There were also presentations by the Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly, and the Business Resource Centre on the opportunities and challenges in the construction industry and how the youth could position themselves to benefit from the industry.
Abubakari Yakubu, a beneficiary of the PASEWAY project, who is into electrical works, lauded the interaction, saying it had enlightened them on what to do to position themselves to take advantage of opportunities in the construction industry.
