Government has outlined plans to create about one million jobs as part of a three-year strategy to address youth unemployment in the country.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, made this known during his presentation of the mid-year fiscal policy review to Parliament on Thursday, July 29, 2021.
According to him, though government through its flagship programmes like the 1 District 1 Factory (1D1F) and Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) has created a number of jobs, the issue of youth unemployment in the country still persist.
He said: “I have had extensive discussions with my colleague Ministers of Employment and Labor Relations, Youth & Sports and Lands & Natural Resources. These conversations culminated in a comprehensive strategy to sustainably address youth unemployment. New programmes will be introduced and existing ones scaled-up and refocused to meet the aspirations of our youth.
“We will work together to sensitize and connect the youth to the numerous opportunities being made available by Government programmes, including a 3-year strategy to create job opportunities for 1 million Ghanaian youth. There are currently about 5 on-going programmes through which we intend to create these jobs,” he said.
Although the economic disruptions occasioned by the COVID-19 has led to more people losing their jobs, Mr. Ofori-Atta said government’s plan to reboot the economy and set it back in motion through the Gh¢100 billion Ghana CARES ‘Obaatanpa’ revitalization programme will be vital in the country’s journey towards the creation of this 1 million jobs.
This he said will help accelerate competitive import substitution and export expansion to generate sustainable jobs for the teeming youth (under 35 years), which constitutes about 71% of the population.