Story by, Paul Mensah Nsor
Accra, Ghana - The Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, has delivered a stark assessment of the nation's employment landscape, highlighting the urgent need for transformative strategies to empower the country's young population. In a landmark State of the Youth address, Minister Addo revealed a complex narrative of education, aspiration, and economic reality that threatens to derail Ghana's developmental trajectory if not immediately addressed.
According to Minister Addo, the education system is generating significant challenges, with a profound misalignment between educational outcomes and labor market demands. Recent data paints a troubling picture, with 70% of young Ghanaians in secondary and higher education concentrated in humanities and social sciences, while merely 23% pursue STEM fields. This educational distribution has significant implications for employability and economic productivity.
The unemployment statistics are equally concerning, with the national youth unemployment rate escalating from 16.9% in 2017 to 22.5% in 2022. Young women are disproportionately affected, with nearly 29% unemployed compared to their male counterparts. The NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) indicator is also alarming, with approximately 22.4% of Ghana's youth disengaged from productive activities.
Minister Addo emphasized that economic growth has not translated into formal sector job creation, with nearly 60% of young workers engaged in vulnerable employment, predominantly in the informal sector. The education system is generating a massive skills gap, with over 400,000 unskilled and semi-skilled young entrants flooding the labor market each year, while fewer than 5,000 skill spaces are available.
To address these challenges, Minister Addo outlined an ambitious multi-pronged approach, including:
Educational Transformation: Refocusing educational curricula towards TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training), embedding work readiness, entrepreneurship, and digital skills across all educational tracks.
Sector-Specific Interventions: Developing targeted programs in promising sectors like manufacturing, logistics, digital services, healthcare, and hospitality.
Private Sector Engagement: Collaborating with industry associations to develop structured workplace learning programs, streamlining business registration processes for young entrepreneurs, and creating incentives for companies that train and retain graduates.
Minister Addo's message was unequivocal: Ghana's future depends on its youth. The nation must act decisively to bridge the gap between education and employment, transform vocational training, challenge existing mindsets, and create an ecosystem that allows every young Ghanaian to contribute meaningfully to national development. The journey towards comprehensive youth economic empowerment has begun, but the road ahead demands continuous commitment, innovative thinking, and collaborative effort from government, private sector, and educational institutions.
