National Apprenticeship Programme Trainees to Receive Allowances and Starting Kits

President John Dramani Mahama has announced stipends and starting kits for beneficiaries of the flagship National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP) which was launched on Wednesday.

These stipends will cater for their transportation while the kits will enhance learning for young people across the country who will enrol to benefit from the comprehensive training in a wide range of sectors.

The available training modules are agriculture and agro-processing, fish farming, poultry keeping, bee keeping, food preservation, masonry, carpentry, plumbing, electrical technician, pot-making beads making and weaving.

Also included are dressmaking, hairdressing, makeup, welding, furniture making, basic robotics, solar technicians, biogas technology, culinary arts, events management and eco-tourism, auto mechanic, software development, data analysis and graphic design.

The Government of Ghana-funded programme with GHC300 million allocation in the 2025 budget will be coordinated by the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment in collaboration with the National Youth Authority with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Agribusiness and other industry players, CSOs and local government authorities.

Essence
Speaking at the launch of the NAP on April 30, 2025, President Mahama said the country was battered by a growing youth population with limited skills fueling unemployment.

He cited recent data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to the effect that the youth unemployment rate stands at 12.6% for those aged between 15 to 35 years with an alarming 29% of young people neither engaged in education and employment or in training.

“These figures are not just statistics. They represent real lives of our children,” he affirmed.

He believes NAP will fill the huge gap by providing structured, high-quality vocational training to over 500,000 young Ghanaians over the next five years, starting with a cohort of 10,000 apprentices nationwide.

Inclusivity
In his speech, he stated that 45% of the training slots will be allotted to women while at least 5% will be for persons living with disabilities.

Additionally, he promised special attention to the marginalized and vulnerable groups across the country.

“We are building an Apprenticeship Programme that will leave no one behind.”

Training
According to President Mahama, NAP will adopt a dual apprenticeship mode.

“Thirty percent of the training will be classroom-based training and 70% practical hands-on training with certified master craftsmen.”

For illiterates, he assured that classroom training will conducted in the language trainees understand.

The training, he further said, will range from short-term to long-term.

The short-term courses will be between two and four months while the long-term programmes will take place between 12-18 months depending on the trade and the skill level that trainees have applied for.

Phase
The President noted that the programme will be in phases with the first scheduled for this year to admit 10,000 apprentices from all the districts of Ghana.

“From 2026 onward, we intend to scale up to 100,000 youths trained annually.”

Application
Interested persons will access the forms at all Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies and online through the National Youth Authority portal starting in May.

Expectations
The government is expectant that NAP will achieve the training of over 500,000 people within the next five years; a 60% employment or self-employment rate among graduates; an average 40% increase in incomes for beneficiaries; and a creation of more than 25,000 new small businesses over the next five years.

Also, it is hopeful that the programme will churn out a skilled workforce contributing significantly to national industrialisation; and enhance empowerment and social inclusion, especially for vulnerable people.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini