1D1F: UniJay Employees To Receive Salary- YEA CEO Discloses
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has disclosed that the government has taken steps to pay the salaries of Unijay Limited workers who were first engaged as apprentices under the government’s youth in apprenticeship programme.
He revealed that the 400 youth who have completed training at the company and have been employed will receive a salary of Ghc400.00 each month for the next eight months.
Lawyer Justin Kodua Frimpong made this known to Wontumi Communication’s Nana Owusu Achiaw on the sidelines of a collaborative launch by YEA and UniJay Limited as part of the Government’s Manufacturing Module under the 1D1F initiative.
He said that, after the eight month duration, the Agency will increase the number of employees to 1,000.
He said President Akufo-Addo’s vision for the youth to get employment is on course, adding that, “the biggest challenge confronting the country is unemployment.”
According to him, “investigations by Ghana Living Standard indicates that, out of about 100,000 youth who vie for jobs in the public sector every year, only 2% get the opportunity to be employed by government with the remaining 98% left on their own to search for non-existent job in the private sector or simply stay home.”
Kodua Frimpong affirmed that, YEA is fully aware that, job opportunities in the formal sector are limited hence the Agency is adopting measures to make the private sector vibrant and attractive to particularly, the youth.
He hinted that, in September this year, YEA will partner NEIP to provide 5000 youth would be supported with seed money so they can be absorbed by the private sector.
Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, fondly called Sompahemaa, commended the CEO of YEA for providing opportunities for the youth to get employment.
She was emphatic that, the government’s One District One Factory programme is not a hoax citing her own constituency, ”where there are two factories established under the programme.”
Madam Appiagyei challenged the Unijay apprentices who have now become employees to bear in mind that, skill training is a life time resource because it provides one with the essential tool to lead be productive at all times.
She urged the apprentices to be inspired and motivated by the exemplary life of the owner of UniJay Limited.
She emphasized that, government wants the employees to be resourceful and get the appetite to work hence taken a bold decision to pay their salaries.
But Hon. Patricia Appiagyei was quick to add that, all workers under the programme who will absent themselves continuously for one month would not be paid.