Ghana Digital Centres and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) have officially entered into a strategic partnership aimed at equipping thousands of young Ghanaians with in-demand digital and technological skills.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony brought together Chief Executive Officers of both institutions, Malik Basintale of YEA and Dzifa Gunu of Ghana Digital Centres, alongside executives from their respective organizations to formalize a collaboration designed to bridge the gap between youth unemployment and opportunities within the technology sector.
Speaking at the event, YEA Chief Executive Officer, Malik Basintale, noted the importance of the technology industry in driving economic growth and creating sustainable employment opportunities for young people.
According to him, the mandate of the Youth Employment Agency is to coordinate and facilitate job creation, making partnerships such as this critical to achieving that objective. “
“The tech space is a very diversified space and even today the richest man in the world is a tech man, and that should tell you how beneficial the tech industry is to our development. It is incumbent on us to take key notice of the advantages of the IT world and give opportunities to our young people through the technology space. Our partnership today is to kickstart opportunities for 2,000 young people out there from the IT space,” he stated.
Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Digital Centres, Dzifa Gunu, described the partnership as the culmination of months of intensive planning and collaboration between both institutions.
He commended the teams behind the initiative, noting that significant effort had gone into ensuring that the programme would meet the expectations of beneficiaries and stakeholders alike.
“It’s been days and nights of work between my team and your team behind the scenes. Let me take the opportunity to commend them. It is important that we do things right and do not infringe upon the expectations of the people who look up to us,” she said.
As part of the initiative, beneficiaries will undergo eight months of rigorous training through an IT Micro Degree Programme certified by Microsoft. Dzifa Gunu revealed that Microsoft had allocated 3,000 training slots across Africa, with YEA successfully securing 2,000 slots for Ghanaian youth.
He further disclosed that the programme would not only focus on skills development but also provide practical industry exposure for participants.
“By the time we finish this programme, 600 of the trainees will be given opportunities for paid internships. This is just the beginning phase of this programme. We are hopeful and very sure that we will achieve a 95 percent success rate during evaluation,” he added.
The Ghana Digital Centres CEO in an exclusive interview with YFM explained that the two organizations have designated roles in making this initiative a successful one. The Youth Employment Agency will be responsible for onboarding and recruitment of interested participants, while Ghana Digital Centres facilitates job creation pipelines and the certification. “I encourage every Ghanaian youth who is within the catchment area of this training to take advantage of it. It’s free. There is a set out criteria when you go to the portal and once you tick those boxes, you’re good to go.”
Applications for the programme will soon be opened to the public, according to the YEA head and encouraged interested young people to apply through the designated portal www.yea.gov.gh once the program kickstarts.
The partnership is expected to play a significant role in preparing Ghanaian youth for careers in the digital economy while supporting the government’s broader agenda of youth empowerment, innovation, and employment creation through technology.
