More than five years after its completion, a vocational skills center in the rural community of Wassa Ekutuase is deteriorating amid overgrown bushes, emblematic of a deeper crisis in youth unemployment and drug abuse afflicting the area.
The once-promising facility, constructed with financial support from the Wassa East District and community cooperation, was intended to equip local youth with vital vocational skills. However, its doors have yet to open, leaving many young people without meaningful opportunities.
The vocational center, comprising three training units and a toilet facility, awaited only training equipment to commence programs in sewing and welding. Yet despite these plans and assurances from the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI), the center remains idle. Efforts to secure training logistics have repeatedly failed, fueling frustration and disillusionment among the youth.
Unit Committee Chairman Paa Kojo Mensah voiced the community’s disappointment: “All efforts at getting the center resourced have proven futile. What was once a hope for skill acquisition is now overtaken by weeds. The youth are fed up weeding this area because nothing better comes out of it.”
Traditional authorities are deeply worried about the consequences of prolonged unemployment. Tufohene Nana Kwaw Binful II highlighted the growing drug use and antisocial behavior among local youth, attributing it directly to the lack of opportunities.
“This is a small community. The youth today are into drugs, stealing, and other vices. We’ve urged them to desist via the local information center, but some remain defiant. The fundamental problem is the absence of meaningful jobs,” he said.
Community members like John Ampaako suggest that revitalizing agriculture through modern technology and incentives could attract youth to farming ventures such as cocoa, rubber, and citrus cultivation.
Currently, reliance on traditional methods, farming is perceived as arduous and unrewarding. “If the government introduces innovative ways to enhance agricultural productivity, it could change the mindset of the youth,” Ampaako remarked.
Meanwhile, government initiatives aimed at youth empowerment, such as the Adwumawura and National Apprenticeship Programmes, hold potential to transform the situation in Wassa Ekutuase. Yet, the community waits anxiously for these programs to be implemented locally.
Without immediate intervention, Wassa Ekutuase risks losing a generation to unemployment and social vices, undermining prospects for sustainable development and peace in this rural district.
