YEA pledges more jobs and skills opportunities for youth in Western North

The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that young people in the Western North Region receive a fair share of employment and empowerment opportunities being rolled out across Ghana.

YEA Chief Executive Officer Malik Basintale made the commitment during a courtesy call on Western North Regional Minister Wilbert Petty Brentum at the Western North Regional Coordinating Council on Wednesday, 6 August 2026.

The visit took place ahead of a staff durbar organised by the Agency in the region, and was intended to strengthen cooperation between the YEA and the Regional Coordinating Council.

Welcoming the YEA delegation, Mr Brentum described Western North as one of Ghana’s most peaceful and hospitable regions. He said the region’s development would depend on sustained investment in the skills, creativity and potential of its young people.

The Regional Minister said the youth remained central to President John Dramani Mahama’s Reset Agenda and urged the YEA to give Western North priority as it continues to implement employment and empowerment programmes across the country.

He asked the Agency to ensure that young people in the region benefited meaningfully from its initiatives, stressing the importance of creating opportunities that would help accelerate local development.

Mr Brentum also appealed to Malik Basintale and his team to support Western North’s contestant in the 2026 Ghana’s Most Beautiful competition. He expressed confidence that collective backing would help the contestant make the region proud.

Responding, Mr Basintale thanked the Regional Minister and the people of Western North for the warm welcome extended to the delegation.

He said the YEA remained determined to make employment opportunities available to young people throughout Ghana, irrespective of their location.

The YEA chief executive said the Agency had so far placed more than 9,000 young people in jobs through its nationwide sanitation programme. He added that 30,000 young people had been trained through various skills development initiatives.

That figure includes about 800 beneficiaries from the Western North Region. The Agency has also facilitated more than 1,800 youth engagements in the region, according to Mr Basintale.

He further disclosed that more than 600 Ghanaian young people had benefited from international exchange programmes. Additional opportunities, he said, were expected to be introduced in the coming months.

Mr Basintale said his visit to the Western North Regional Coordinating Council was about more than a formal courtesy call. It was also aimed at building a stronger working relationship with the regional authorities as the YEA seeks to create sustainable jobs and broaden opportunities for young people in the region.

The engagement comes as the Agency continues its nationwide employment, training, sanitation and empowerment programmes, with the YEA leadership stressing that young people across all parts of Ghana should have access to the opportunities being created.