A total of 44 individuals, comprising 40 females and four males, have successfully graduated from the Marketable Skills Training Programme organ­ised by the Centre for National Culture (CNC) in the Eastern Region.

The initiative was designed to equip the youth with employable skills to make them more competi­tive in the job market.

The one-month training pro­gramme covered a wide range of practical areas including bead making, batik, tie-and-dye, man­icure and pedicure, interior and exterior decoration, weaving, basic and advanced sewing, fasci­nator making, facial makeup, and crocheting.

The annual programme aims to empower participants with hands-on skills to promote self-reliance and improve their economic well-being.

At the maiden graduation cere­mony, the Acting Eastern Regional Director of CNC, Ms Salamatu Alhassan, who spearheaded the training, expressed satisfaction with the successful completion of the programme.

She said the initiative did not only fulfill the CNC’s mandate but also reflected the centre’s dedi­cation to national development, youth empowerment, and sustain­able job creation.

She also challenged the outdat­ed perception that skills-based training was for the less intelli­gent, stressing that vocational training offered an alternative path to success and a way out of hopelessness.

She encouraged the graduands to uphold values such as dis­cipline, innovation, integrity, customer service, and financial literacy as they put their newly acquired skills to use.

The Acting Executive Director of the National Commission on Culture, Mr Wakefield Ackuaku, also commended the CNC in the Eastern Region for the impactful initiative.

He noted that cultural indus­tries were becoming increasingly important as major sources of employment, especially for the youth.

He urged the graduands to apply professionalism to their craft in order to earn a sustainable liveli­hood and contribute meaningfully to their families, communities, and the national economy.

One of the beneficiaries, Alice Ampiah, a dressmaker, shared her experience, noting that before the training, she lacked skills in bead­ing and often had to outsource that part of her work.

From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua