The German Ambassador to Ghana, Frederik Landshoeft, has said investing in vocational and technical skills is necessary for job creation to spur accelerated growth.
He added that building the capacity of the youth in those sectors was the way to go and, therefore, lauded the government’s ‘One Million Coder’ programme and other skills training initiatives for the youth in the country.
Mr Landshoeft was speaking at a media briefing in Accra, ahead of the German Unity Day 2025 celebration to be observed in Ghana on Thursday, October 2, 2025.
The ambassador said Ghana was blessed with a dynamic generation of youth who, when provided with the necessary skills, could contribute significantly to the country’s development trajectory.
He urged the youth to embrace such opportunities to build their capacity in various skills and entrepreneurship, which would not only make them marketable in Ghana but also internationally, adding that there was a high demand for skilled workers in Germany.
The German Unity Day celebration is the commemoration of German reunification, the day when the former German Democratic Republic officially joined the Federal Republic of Germany.
The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, which marked the end of the Cold War, paved the way for German reunification barely a year later.
The Unification Treaty was signed on September 20, 1990, and declared on October 3, 1990, a national holiday which sealed the end of the division of Germany.
The ambassador said Germany was deepening its cooperation with Ghana in various sectors of development.
He said that this year marked 50 years of Ghana-Germany cooperation, and half a century of working side by side in agriculture, governance, technical education and sustainable economic growth.
“In a world where more and more states are turning away from a rules-based international order, where bullying and the law of the strongest are propagated, we need middle powers like Ghana and Germany who stand up out of conviction for multilateral responsibility, be it in the EU, in ECOWAS or together at the UN, where Ghana and Germany literally sit side by side,” he said.
Mr Landshoeft further said Ghana had become an important partner of Germany in West Africa and beyond, and mentioned security, business and labour migration, where cooperation was not only strong, but held great potential.
Under security, he said, Germany was supporting Ghana to strengthen its regional security architecture to help protect its citizens from threats.
On business, the ambassador said German companies were seeking new and reliable markets where Ghana's openness and stability proved to be an advantage.
The ambassador announced that during the Unity Day celebration on Thursday, the embassy would pay tribute to the late Ghanaian musician, Daddy Lumba, whom he described as the creator of Burger Highlife during the musician’s stay in Hamburg, describing the feat as Ghana-German creativity.
He said the day’s celebration would witness performances from Ghanaian artists, including Okyeame Kwame and Stonebwoy, alongside German and Ghanaian cuisine and an exhibition by German institutions present in Ghana and development partners.
“Germany stands with Ghana as a partner, a friend and a country with whom we share not only interests, but also values,” Mr Landshoeft added.