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Dr Abdul Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, Minister of State in charge of Private Sector Development and Public Private Partnerships, has stressed that the overreliance of the youth on formal sector jobs after completion of school was a contributory factor to the problem of unemployment.

He, therefore, asked the youth to change their attitude and perception about job creation and embrace skills development.

A large number of graduates from the university, he said, are often found wanting as a result of their lack of the required skills for the job market.

Dr Pelpuo was speaking at the National Youth and Construction Summit held in Accra to stimulate debate and identify investment areas to promote the youth’s participation in Ghana’s construction industry.

The summit was organised by Global Communities, a non-governmental organisation under its Youth Inclusive Entrepreneurial Development Initiative for Employment (YIEDIE) project.

The event, attended by construction companies, civil society associations, investors, policymakers, design firms, financial and insurance firms, among others, served as a platform for participants to deliberate on how best stakeholders and investors could partner to meet the needs of Ghana’s construction sector.

Dr Pelpuo reiterated government’s commitment to creating the needed environment to ensure that the private sector was profitable, to encourage investors to easily invest and get their desired returns.

Mrs Kafui Vera Mills-Odoi, Project Director, YIEDIE, in her welcome address, was optimistic that the summit would lead to the formation of concrete steps to address the challenges confronting the youth in the construction sector and develop policies that could create sustainable economic opportunities in the sector.

She stated that the YIEDIE would directly reach out to at least 23,700 youths with training in technical and entrepreneurship skills to make them employable.

“Over 14,000 youths will gain technical and construction skills through participating in an apprenticeship programme, and at least 9,000 youths will receive that training that they need to become entrepreneurs in the construction sector,” she said.

YIEDIE is a five-year project which seeks to create opportunities in Ghana’s construction sector for the benefits of the youth in Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ashaiman and Tema.

The summit was organised by YEIDIE project, which is being implemented by Global Communities in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.