Some one
hundred and ninety-three corps members were recently certified at the National
Youth Service Scheme (NYSS) annual graduation ceremony.
The ceremony came after the completion of their two-year various skills training by the corps members.
The ceremony, held at the President’s International Awards Scheme in Bakau, witnessed the certification of 47 girls and 136 boys.
At the 11th annual graduation, youth were certified on various skills undertaken by them in the various sectors including agriculture, carpentry, automechanic, plumbing, tailoring, hairdressing, air-conditioning and refrigeration, masonry, computer hardware and maintenance, electrical installation, electronic repairs, welding and fabrication, livestock management and painting and decoration.
In his keynote address, Youth and Sports Minister Alieu K. Jammeh applauded the graduands.
He added that driving for national development calls for a multi-faceted approach as well as human resources that could cover a wide part of fields.
This is the reason why the head of state continues to invest in both education and health, Mr Jammeh says.
According to him, the Gambian leader is a champion of youth empowerment and development, thus realized the significance of youth in nation development.
He said the government provides the opportunities for the citizens to go through the necessary pillars, foundation for them to be able to take part significantly in the national development.
The officer in charge of National Training Authority Edrisa Colley, who served as the guest speaker, told the graduands they have achieved their training at a time the country is undergoing rapid development.
He added that the fundamental of this vision is the improvement of the quality of life and standard of living of all citizens.
He further reaffirmed the NTA’s continued collaboration with the NYSS to the development and empowerment of the youth to help them realize their potentials.
For his report, Suute Jawo, acting-executive director of the NYSS, said despite the challenges, the NYSShas now trained over 1,985 young Gambians to gain employment or self-employmentand have equally acquired discipline and strong morals as always advocatedfor by the president.
Mr Jawo said that students can be admitted into the NYSS training programme through all the seven administrative regions in the country with the provision of the criteria which include medical status, nationality, conduct, basic education (up to grade 9)and age 17-30.
He thanked President Jammeh for establishing the NYSS and taking the lead to improving the welfare and status of young people.
