Mr Joshua Mensah, the team leader for Foundation for Financial Inclusion (FFI), says the time has come for vocational schools to take their positions by venturing into entrepreneurship.

Mr Mensah said it would be beneficial for the youth, especially those in the vocational schools, to think outside the box to create more employment to help close the graduate unemployment gap.

He was speaking at the sixth edition of the Entrepreneurship Development Workshop organised by the FFI in Accra on Thursday.

The workshop dubbed: 'Time with the Entrepreneur,' has students from the New Century Career Institute, National Community Development Vocation Institute, South Labone Girls Vocation and Kanda Career Training Institute as well as some workers as participants.

Mr Mensah said the skills of an entrepreneur were highly needed for the success of any business venture.

He asked the participants not to look down on themselves but rather believe in their endowed potentials and exploit them to transform lives.

Mr Mensah explained that entrepreneurs were people who solved problems and 'there are more problems in Ghana that needs people who can solve them to make wealth'.

'Your ability to identify a need and provide solution will make you rich or poor,' he added.

Mr Paul Appiah-Konadu, a training coordinator with the FFI said, for a person to start a business 'financial discipline is highly required.'

He said being an entrepreneur came with a number of challenges as well as benefits such as financial independence, reduction of unemployment and enjoyment of high societal status among others.

Mr Wisdom Akuffo, Head of National Dress Makers Association, Tesano branch and the Chairman of the board of FFI told participants to 'know that your business is your future', and that there is no need to give up on a set goal during troubling moments.

In an interaction with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Oliver Ampofo, a level 400 student of the New Century Career Institute said: 'I have highly benefited from this programme and set to implement the knowledge acquired.'

Ms Esther Konu, a student of National Community Development Vocation Institute told the GNA that she had learnt that 'as an entrepreneur, I need to focus in my goal'.

Foundation for Financial Inclusion is a group seeking to help students and people in the informal sector to refine their ideas, start or grow their businesses and locate the resources needed to succeed.

GNA