SNV Netherlands Ghana is undergoing a project to train youth between the ages of 15 to 35 years and returnees in two regions in Ghana; Western and Ashanti region. The trainees are to be taken through a curriculum to become good entrepreneurs and employable in water, agriculture, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as well as renewable energy.
The Brew Hammond Energy Centre, KNUST, was contracted as service provider to train 300 people in Adansi South under this project. The project begun in November, 2020 and it is to be divided into three cohorts; 100 people per cohort. Every cohort is to last two to three months. The program is divided into three sessions; basic training, advanced training and internship/on the job technical training. The basic training is a five-day session and the advanced training will take about a month to complete. The internship will be for two months or more if it is necessary.
The first cohort offered by KNUST registered 176 people from Adansi South, 98 people were interviewed but 51 people took part in the actual training. 38 out of the 51 people registered for the advanced training. 23 people chose to be in the entrepreneurship track and 15 chose to be in the employability track. The training was held at the New Edubiase District Assembly Hall.
For the basic training, topics like goal setting, leadership, diversity and self-inclusion, professional behavior at work, becoming a successful entrepreneur, pitching, financial literacy and time management were taught. This gave the participants the overview to decide which track to choose and which sector to go into. For advanced employability, the participants were taught how to write a curriculum vitae, cover letter, how to review job description as well as how to present and conduct themselves during an interview. For advanced entrepreneurship training, the participants were taught how to market their goods, how to segments their markets, how to develop a business model canvas and pitch. They were also taught how to partner with other people and how to distribute their products and services to their customers. Customer care is also taught extensively.
At the moment some have been placed in some industries in the district to intern. For the second cohort, 58 people have been registered, 42 people interviewed and basic training has been scheduled to start on 14th June, 2021.