The Government has released 2.4 billion cedis out of the 10 billion cedis approved as Youth Fund to a number of selected institutions to be used in upgrading their job creation centres.
Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, who announced this, said the amount which represents the first tranche of funds to be released, will benefit eight institutions, which already have job creation centres.
Mr Baah-Wiredu made the announcement at Asankare on Wednesday when he presented cheques totalling 644 million cedis from the 2.4 billion cedis to three institutions in the Ashanti region.
The beneficiary institutions include the Asankare Youth Leadership and Skill Training Centre in the Asante-Akim South district, which got a cheque for 379 million cedis.
The remaining are the Patreansa Multi-Purpose Centre in the Asante-Akim North, which received 205 million cedis while the Integrated Community Centre for Employable Skills (ICCES) at Nerebehi in the Atwima district had 60 million cedis.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said funds meant for institutions in which job creation centres were located should not be regarded as gifts but as loans which must be paid back to enable other institutions to also benefit from it.
The Minister said the setting up of job creation centres and the Youth Fund was ample indication of Government's commitment to the creation of job opportunities for the youth.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said his Ministry was liasing with the Ministry of Works and Housing to work out an agreement whereby contracts could also be awarded to such job creation centres.
Mr Lord Justice Gyamfi-Fenteng, Asante-Akim South District Chief Executive, appealed to the Ministry of Employment and Manpower Development to make available to the district assemblies copies of names of those who registered during the registration of the unemployed.
He said such copies would help the district assemblies to determine and identify who is unemployed and the nature of skills and consequently assist in providing skill training for them.