SOS Children’s Villages Ghana is demanding greater emphasis on skill training for the youth as it warns that Ghana’s ballooning unemployment rate is assuming threatening proportions.
The charity organization made the call when it met youth in Kumasi on World Youth Skills Day; to discuss ways of creating sustainable job opportunities for the teaming unemployed youth in Ghana.
The multi-stakeholder conference comes at a crucial time Ghana is grappling with a 14.7% youth unemployment rate with the number of unemployed youth aged between 15 and 35 having risen from 1.2 to 1.3 million. in the first three quarters of the year 2023.
Programs Manager, SOS CV Kumasi program Location; Bernard Amoako cautioned that Ghana’s development and security stands threatened as more youth continue to graduate from school with no hopes of making a decent living through any productive economic engagement.
The youth need to fend for themselves and some are forced into illegal means to survive. It is important that we are able to reduce drastically, our unemployment rate so that it doesn’t affect our national security,”
He insisted that the country needs to double up efforts at creating skill banks to harness the creativities and energies of the youth as opportunities in existing corporations continue to dwindle. It is important that we
“We need people to find jobs to cater for themselves and their families. If we don’t support them to learn a skill and do something for themselves, it will get to a point where we will not like what we see,” he warned.
He outlined the impact of SOS Children’s Villages Projects like the No Business As Usual Youth Empowerment Centre, the Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities GrEEn project, and other family strengthening programs SOS embarks on aside its orphanages, to invest both hard and soft; career and entrepreneurial and employability skills into the youth.
“Fortunately we have supported many of these young people to start their own businesses and to find jobs. They all have their strengths and weaknesses but we have used our programs to help them stand on their own, provide for their families, and contribute to national development,” Mr. Amoako pointed out.
The confab held by the SOS Children’s Villages brought together eager young persons, Industry players; Leaders of Ghana’s Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector; Business Funding partners including the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) as well as youth coaches drawn from ongoing SOS CV led livelihood empowerment programs.
TVET Skill Uptake
Ghana’s technical and vocational education drive has picked up in response to the need for more skilled labor; with intake into TVET institutions tripling over the past four years.
While second-cycle TVET Schools admitted approximately 15,000 students in the year 2020, the number has grown to 52,000 in the year 2024indicating a positive public acceptance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
Deputy Ashanti Regional Director for TVET Services Daniel Amo, however, insisted the number of TVET institutions still begs the gravity of the challenge.
If we look at the figures, we should be expecting not less than 60,000 students in TVET schools this year. We have 233 TVET institutions nationwide against about 800 Senior High Schools. If we increase access then more students can come in but for now, we are constrained,” he disclosed.
Government Interventions
With less than five months to National Elections, unemployment which stands at 14.7% has been tipped to lead campaigns.
The opposition NDC is flying high a 24-hour Economy agenda alongside its promise to train an army of a million coders to create jobs.
The governing NPP is banking on the digital revolution and its existing flagships like the 1district 1factory policy; to turn the corner.
Though institutions like the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) have kick-started the government’s YouSTART program TO create 1 million jobs for young entrepreneurs, its managers insist the whole country requires a paradigm shift to realize any benefits.
Speaking to GHONE News, Ashanti Regional Manager of the GEA Eric Oti Nyarko emphasized the need for graduates to begin accepting the gradual shift towards an era of an entrepreneurial nation.
“It’s not only happening in Ghana but Asia and other places are on this trajectory. Office jobs are no longer available to employ all the graduates. The way to go is to reorient our youth,” he emphasized.
Some young Ghanaians who have taken the path of skill-based jobs told reporter Ivan Heathcote – Fumador, the choice has been rewarding.
Michael Owusu a fashion designer expressed fear, that Ghana’s unemployment rate will spiral out of control if a majority of the youth continue to just focus on grammar-related courses.
“Today many people want their children to be in school but if you are done schooling and there are no jobs, you join the unemployment trail. Skills pay my bills and make me independent,” he shared.
World Youth Skills Day
World Youth Skills Day commemorated annually on the 15th of July, is a day dedicated to the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.
This year’s theme, ‘Youth Skills for Peace and Development’ afforded participants of SOS Children’s Villages Youth Empowerment Programs the opportunity to discuss TVET skills; Business Innovation, and the role of the youth in peaceful elections.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Ivan Heathcote – Fumador
