Make use of opportunities -Veep advises NABCO trainees

The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has advised trainees of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) to make use of the opportunities offered them by theinitiative. 

He said they should consider the temporary relief the scheme had offered them as a springboard into their future professional growth and career development paths.

Dr Bawumia gave the advice at the closing ceremony of NABCO’s one-year anniversary celebration in Accra last Friday.

According to him, the programme had been carefully crafted to ensure that trainees were prepared for the job market.

“All trainees of NABCO workforce are to follow a mandatory learning programme both online and physically.

The scheme’s ultimate aim to achieve employability is strongly anchored on training and empowerment of trainees, so that they can exit and pursue their chosen careers,” he added.

Training

Dr Bawumia said the training given to NABCO personnel must conform to contemporary trends on the job market.

“There is no debating the fact that we are in a knowledge generation.

The fourth Industrial Revolution is in full swing.

The nature of the workforce is changing drastically and we must follow the trend,” he said, adding:

“Whatever the challenge, your time in the programme must be valued and appreciated and your story must be one of taking an opportunity with both hands to grow.”

He lauded the cordial relationship among the module implementation partners of the scheme.

Visionary leader

Describing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as a visionary leader, Dr Bawumia said the NABCO initiative was a life-saver for many youth, considering the state in which the country was when the NPP took over the reins of government.

He commended the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NABCO, Dr Ibrahim Anyars, and his team for their dedication to duty since the inception of the programme.

“When we came to power, there was high graduate unemployment.

As you know, the incompetent management of the economy meant that the previous government had to seek an IMF bailout and that came with conditions.

“There was virtual freeze on public sector recruitment.

Nurses would graduate and be at home; teachers were not being recruited and we had to think outside the box, and NABCO was one such innovative solution that the government brought in.

You all remember what they said; they virtually bastardised and ridiculed NABCO,” the Vice-President said.

“In the almost three years of our administration, we have been cognisant of the fact that we have to lead this country to provide solutions for some of our major intractable problems and NABCO was initiated on account of this: to resolve the long wait to join the labour market by most of our unemployed graduates,” he added.