Accra, March 2, 2020//-Ghana which is considered one of the more stable countries in West Africa since it transitions to multi-party in 1992.
The country is also noted for his rich historical and cultural diversity which makes the country fun filled and hospitable too and being ranked as Africa’s most peaceful country by global peace index.
But here lies the case, the country in which most neighboring countries want to stay is also having some challenge which leaves the average Ghanaian with nothing but poverty and despair.
Unemployment is one of the key issues in Ghana and is the percentage of a country labour force that is without jobs but is available to work and actively seeking employment.
Ghana’s unemployment rate is above the worldwide unemployment rate, compared to other sub-Saharan African countries and other regions. The unemployment rate in Ghana was approximately 6.63% of the total labor force as at 2017 and then increased to 6.71% in 2018. currently, the unemployment rate in Ghana as at 2019 was 6.78%.
Key among some of the reasons for the high rate of unemployment are as follows;
Firstly, our education curriculum. The free education system may be a way of reducing the level of illiteracy, but then again, it does not fully conform to the contemporary economic concerns.
It focuses more on theory lessons rather than imparting relevant practical and professional skills needed in the job market. The generation now is characterized by fast advancing world in the technological sector and hence demand competent and well-versed employee to handle current progressions. This curriculum is basically not flexible enough for an inter-generation gap.
The white collar job mentality is also one cause of unemployment in Ghana. Graduates are made to believe that seeking formal employment in a well-reputed establishment is a golden ticket to being successful in life.
This makes them desperate in competing for the few vacancy slots the companies have to offer since the number of graduates is certainly bigger than the available supply of jobs.
This mentality may be contributed to the defective system. There is lack of vocational support and training facilities needed to make our youth more of job creators rather than job seekers.
The curriculum puts much emphasis on academic and bookish knowledge while turning a blind eye to practical training for entrepreneurial benefits. It’s from such negligence that many of our youth, especially from rural setup have no clue on possible areas of employment or even an ideal choice of occupation.
To solve these problems, I suggest the following factors should be considered;
I suggest that this problem of unemployment in Ghana can be solved based on the role the education sector play in the country we find ourselves.
Based on the problem, I have been able to identify that, the education curriculum needs an intensive review because It currently plays a crucial role in the causes of unemployment among graduates.
People should be trained to have transferable skills that match the contemporary needs. Graduates need to be competent and highly skilled to the job they are actually applying for.
Whenever there is a change in the industries, curricula should as well shift with the trend. Being static is what has caused many graduates their jobs-especially computer based.
Since this problem is actually happening in Ghana, I suggest that, more attention should also be put in vocational and training institutions.
Quite a number of unemployed youth are roaming around the jobless corners, simply because they lack adequate skills for either self-employment or working for a corporate.
Empowering such people with knowledge, even though they may have never completed their tertiary level, would really aid in curbing this challenge.
Lastly, the government should also try to encourage expansion of informal sector to boost productivity as well as income. The ‘white color’ mentality should be scrapped off from these millennial. An initiative should also be launched to encourage the youth to borrow government loans for their small businesses. Being self-employment may definitely be the solution we need after all.
By Benjamin Goodman Oppong-Peprah, Geological Engineering student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana; and a Fellow of Central Leadership Programme
Email: Benjamin.elliot46@gmail.com
