The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and Ghana Police Service have teamed up to launch the Community Protection Assistants (CPA) programme in the Volta Region.
Regional Minister James Gunu inaugurated the three-week training at the Ho Police Training School, where 1,013 young recruits from Volta, Eastern, and Oti Regions are learning criminal law, human rights, intelligence gathering, and physical fitness. Upon completion, these CPAs will serve as vital links between communities and police, helping to prevent crime and strengthen public trust.
“This collaboration turns job creation into a tool for peacebuilding,” Minister Gunu noted. “By equipping our youth with both employment and security skills, we are investing in safer communities and more hopeful futures.”
Senior police officers, including Volta Regional Commander DCOP Wisdom Akorli and Ho Training School chief ACP William Acolatse, praised the rigorous curriculum and discipline-driven approach. They highlighted plans to expand the programme nationwide, with additional roles such as Prison Support Assistants and Community Medical First Responders, and the possibility for top-performing CPAs to be recruited into the Ghana Police Service.
YEA Volta Director Daniel Hamenu called the initiative “a blueprint for national development,” underscoring its dual impact: reducing unemployment and extending community-level security coverage.
With parallel CPA trainings underway at five other police schools, the programme represents a novel fusion of workforce development and public safety strategy—transforming unemployed youth into guardians of Ghana’s neighborhoods.
