The Ministry of Finance has released over GH¢410 million this year to support two major youth-focused programmes under the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, aimed at tackling unemployment and building the capacity of young Ghanaians.This was disclosed by the Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment, Mr George Opare Addo, during the Government Accountability Series in Accra.He said GH¢110 million had been allocated for the Adwumawura entrepreneurship programme, while GH¢300 million had been earmarked for the National Apprenticeship Programme, both of which are expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of youth across the country.The Adwumawura Programme, launched in April 2025, would provide support for young entrepreneurs through training, startup capital, mentorship, and market access, "Within the first week of its launch, over 8,000 applications were received.
To date, more than 120,000 young people have applied".He said the National Apprenticeship Programme, also launched in April, had received 115,000 applications, adding that it offered free technical and vocational training, startup tools, certification, and for the first time, a monthly stipend for apprentices."The programme officially begins on August 12 and aims to train 500,000 young people across various trades including auto works, carpentry, welding, plumbing, and ICT.
Trainees who complete the programme will be supported to start their own businesses under the Adwumawura programme," he explained.On National Service, Mr Opare Addo said about 130,000 graduates were expected to be deployed for the 2025/2026 service year."However, registration is currently paused due to a shutdown of the central posting system, which is undergoing a forensic audit after reports of ghost names and fraud.
A new system is being developed to ensure transparency and credibility," he said.As part of new policy directions, the Minister announced a six-week basic military orientation programme for 100,000 national service personnel starting this year to instil "discipline, patriotism, and leadership" in the youth, but not militarise them.The Youth Employment Agency (YEA), under the ministry, plans to engage 259,850 beneficiaries this year."As of July, 49,313 young people have been trained or placed under different models."These include 6,500 placed through the YEA Job Centre, 8,913 trained in trades and vocations, and thousands more deployed to support education, health, community protection, and emergency services," he said.Mr Opare Addo also addressed the rising threat of drug abuse among young people, saying that the ministry had launched the "Red Means Stop" campaign to educate and prevent substance abuse, particularly among schoolchildren and youth groups.He said the campaign was being rolled out across all 16 regions, "Throughout August, the ministry is holding a National Youth Festival, with activities such as clean-up campaigns, youth conferences, climate change forums, stakeholder dialogues, and a youth durbar".The Minister also revealed plans to transform the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat into a fully-fledged Scholarship Authority."The government is proposing to upgrade the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat into a full Authority, which would give it greater administrative autonomy and possibly expanded mandates," he said.He said a draft bill was before Parliament, but further consultations were underway, BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG
