Ghana yesterday joined the international community to commemorate World Youth Skills Day with a call on stakeholders to invest more in equipping young people with employable and innovative skills.
The event, held in Accra, brought together government officials, youth groups, civil society organisations and industry players to deliberate on strategies for empowering the youth to meet the demands of a rapidly changing global economy.
This year’s was on the theme: “Empowering Youth for Sustainable Development: Bridging Skills Gap for a Resilient Future.”
Speaking at the event, the Board Chairman of the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Mr Nii Doodo Dodoo, said that investing in young people was not just a moral obligation but a strategic necessity for national growth and stability.
Mr Dodoo noted that with 36 per cent of Ghana’s population between the ages of 15 and 35, the country remained one of the most youthful nations globally, and therefore the right skills training would determine Ghana’s trajectory over the next two to three decades.
He lamented that only about a third of young people currently had access to formal skills training, describing the situation as a major gap that required urgent attention.
The Chairman cited the example of a young Ghanaian entrepreneur, Ms Adiza Husseini, who transformed her life through vocational training in auto mechanics, and urged stakeholders, government, industry, and civil society to collaborate in creating inclusive opportunities that would empower the youth to drive innovation, create jobs and build a resilient economy.
The Deputy Director-General of CTVET, Mr Abdul Zakaria, also called for stronger partnerships to equip the Ghanaian youth with future-ready skills.
He said skills development must go beyond borders, describing young people as “brave builders” of a resilient future.
Mr Zakaria further noted that agriculture-focused TVET held triple potential modernising farming, promoting climate resilience and creating jobs and urged the youth to embrace opportunities that ensured sustainable livelihoods.
On his part, the President of the Ghana National Union of Technical Students (GNUTS), Mr Yahuza Abubakar, urged government and stakeholders to place students at the centre of all decisions relating to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
He commended the institutionalisation of initiatives such as the One Million Coders Programme and the National Apprenticeship Programme which he said were creating opportunities in digital literacy, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Mr Abubakar, however, stressed the need to modernise workshops with industry-standard equipment, retrain instructors, and align curricula with automation, renewable energy and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
He said investing in students meant investing in jobs, innovation, dignity and Ghana’s sustainable future.
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