By Alex Ababio
The government of Ghana must accelerate the training of technicians if the nation hopes to curb rising youth unemployment, warned former President and current leader John Dramani Mahama. According to him, Ghana’s universities continue to churn out large classes of graduates whose skills do not match the demands of industry.
Speaking at a high-level panel held on Saturday, December 6, during the Doha Forum on Economic Empowerment in Africa—on the session “Pathway to Inclusive Prosperity”—Mahama cautioned that without redirecting education and training toward technical and vocational skills, the country risks deepening structural unemployment. The panel also featured global leaders and development practitioners, including Achim Steiner (UNDP Administrator), Khalifa Jassim Al Kuwari (Director General, Qatar Fund for Development), and Jakaya Kikwete (former Tanzania President and Chair, Global Partnership for Education).
“If you go and speak to captains of industry in Ghana, they are looking for middle-level technicians, more than professors and other high academic laurels,” Mahama said.
He added, “We are not training them in sufficient numbers for the world of work. There are jobs looking for technicians, and yet you are producing more business administration graduates, more marketing graduates, more graduates in the humanities.”
That, he said, explains why many jobs remain unfilled despite high unemployment: the skills simply are not there.
The Government’s Response: National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP)
In response to the growing mismatch between university outputs and industry needs, the administration launched a nationwide apprenticeship initiative, the National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP), in April 2025. The scheme is designed to deliver technical, vocational and entrepreneurial training in trades such as carpentry, plumbing, auto mechanics, agro-processing, tailoring, electrical work, ICT, and more.
Under the NAP:
Training combines classroom-based instruction (about 30%) with practical, on-the-job training (about 70%), supervised by qualified master craftsmen.
Certificates are awarded upon completion, aimed to be recognised nationally.
There is strong emphasis on inclusion: women, persons with disabilities, and youth from underserved communities are encouraged to apply.
In the first phase (2025), the programme aims to enrol 10,000 apprentices across all 261 districts — with plans to scale up to 100,000 annually from 2026 onward.
The 2025 budget allocated GH¢300 million to support NAP, including training costs and monthly stipends for trainees.
At the launch in Tamale in April 2025, Mahama described NAP as the beginning of a “skills revolution” intended to provide practical, employable skills to young Ghanaians — especially those unable to continue in tertiary education.
This kind of initiative is intended to match the labour-market needs more directly and to reduce the growing pool of unemployed or under-employed youth.
Why Ghana needs NAP: The scale of youth unemployment and skills mismatch
The urgency of NAP is underscored by data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). According to their 2023 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES), about 1.9 million youth aged 15–35 were not in education, employment, or training (NEET) — roughly 18.2 percent of Ghana’s youth population in that cohort.
Females accounted for a disproportionate share: 1.2 million compared with 715,691 males.
Regionally, the burden is uneven. The urban Greater Accra region alone accounted for more than half a million of the NEET youth (565,360), while other regions including Ashanti (352,503), Central (155,171), Eastern (143,601), and Western (137,865) each recorded over 100,000 NEET youth.
Though the NEET rate dropped from 24.1 percent in Q3 2022 to 18.2 percent in Q3 2023 — a reduction of 5.9 percentage points — the absolute number remains alarming.
Additional labour statistics reinforce the concern: by the end of 2024, the national unemployment rate stood at 13.1 percent. Yet, for youth aged 15–24, unemployment averaged 32 percent — and 22.5 percent for the 15–35 age group. Seven out of ten unemployed individuals belonged to the youth category.
These statistics show that while general unemployment may ease slightly, youth unemployment remains entrenched — pointing to systemic structural problems, not mere cyclical downturns.
Uncovering the root problem: Skills mismatch and gaps in TVET
Recent investigations by UNICEF Ghana, working with the Ghana TVET Service, have revealed critical weaknesses in Ghana’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system — weaknesses that feed directly into the persistent youth unemployment rate.
A 2024–2025 study across the Ashanti Region found that only 24 percent of surveyed TVET institutions deliver Competency-Based Training (CBT) exclusively — widely regarded as the most effective method for preparing youth for the world of work.
Key hurdles include high implementation costs, deteriorating or insufficient infrastructure, and shortage of qualified instructors — all of which diminish the quality and relevance of training.
Moreover, the study uncovered a stark neglect of critical sectors. Out of 57 institutions surveyed, only one offered agriculture-related training — even though agriculture remains one of Ghana’s main employers, especially in rural areas.
Likewise, training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) — a sector fundamental to the emerging digital economy — remains inadequate. Employers repeatedly cite a shortage of digital, technical, and soft skills even among those who claim to have undergone technical training.
As noted by Mr. Abdul Fatah Maigah Mahama, Deputy Director-General (Management Services) of the TVET Service: “Without evidence-based findings, challenges such as infrastructure deficits, instructor capacity challenges, negative perceptions about TVET, and weak private sector participation risked being addressed based on anecdotal assumptions rather than facts.”
Meanwhile, the representative of UNICEF in Ghana, Mr. Osama Makkawi, underscored the urgency of digital inclusion: “In today’s economy, ICT skills are not optional — they are essential.” He described the study as a “wake-up call for all stakeholders” to embed ICT and digital literacy across all training pathways.
Why merely producing university graduates won’t solve Ghana’s job crisis
President Mahama’s observation — that Ghana continues to produce graduates in fields such as business administration, marketing, and humanities — resonates deeply when seen against this backdrop of skills mismatch.
The problem is not simply a shortage of jobs. Rather, there are thousands of existing job openings — in carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, mechanics, agro-processing, ICT maintenance, and other trades — that go unfilled because Ghana lacks qualified technicians and craftsmen.
But because higher education continues to emphasise academic degrees over technical competence, youth often emerge from tertiary institutions with “paper qualifications” but little practical skill — leaving them ill-prepared for the real demands of the labour market.
This mismatch is a main factor behind “structural unemployment” — meaning that the economy needs workers, but the skills supply and demand remain disconnected. Mahama’s warning that “jobs exist but remain unfilled” is not rhetorical — the data confirms it.
Additionally, a 2023 empirical review of youth-employment programmes in Ghana concluded that while many such interventions are well-intended — involving skills training, job placement, seed capital and subsidies — their effectiveness is undermined by duplication, lack of coordination, and absence of rigorous impact evaluation.
In other words: without a centralised, coordinated, well-resourced, and evidence-driven approach — such as NAP — Ghana will continue to struggle with under-utilised potential among its youth.
Why rapid expansion of NAP is urgent — and what needs fixing
The NAP is a welcome and potentially transformative intervention. But for it to succeed at scale — and avoid replicating the failures of past TVET efforts — several critical challenges must be addressed.
Key challenges ahead
Infrastructure and instructor capacity: As the study by UNICEF/TVET Service shows, most TVET institutions lack the facilities and trained trainers for proper competency-based instruction. Without investments in workshops, equipment, instructor training and maintenance, quality will suffer.
Curriculum relevance: Training programmes must align closely with actual labour-market demands. The fact that only one institution offered agriculture training in a mainly agrarian region is symptomatic of misalignment between curricula and real economic needs.
Digital skills integration: As Ghana transitions toward a digital economy, ICT, renewable energy, and other emerging sectors demand competence beyond traditional trades. Without embedding digital literacy, programming, and ICT maintenance skills in apprenticeship curricula, Ghana risks repeating old mismatches.
Institutional coordination and evaluation: A key pitfall of past youth-employment initiatives is poor coordination and lack of follow-up evaluation. The 2023 review of youth-employment programmes concluded that only with a centralized, well-coordinated strategy — with rigorous impact tracking — can real, sustainable results be expected.
What must be done
Dramatically scale up NAP funding, infrastructure and human resources — to ensure that the planned 100,000 apprentices annually get high-quality, relevant, practical training.
Regularly align curricula with evolving market needs by engaging industries, trade associations and employers in curriculum design and apprenticeship placement.
Prioritise inclusion of ICT, renewable energy, agro-processing, and other strategic growth sectors — not just traditional trades like carpentry and plumbing.
Institute robust monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance systems — so policymakers can quantify outcomes, learn what works, and gradually expand or reform programmes based on evidence.
Intensify public awareness and social campaigns to destigmatize vocational training and promote technical careers as equally valuable as academic paths.
As Dr. Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, Minister for Labour, Employment and Jobs, noted recently: nearly 60 percent of the roughly 300,000 annual graduates entering Ghana’s labour market remain unemployed, under-employed or without the skills for available jobs. He described the situation as “dreams deferred and national potential untapped.”
Conclusion — Ghana’s crossroads: academic credentials or practical competence?
What emerges clearly from recent data, expert reports, and government programmes is that Ghana occupies a critical crossroads. On one path lies the status quo: an over-reliance on academic credentials, rising numbers of unemployed or under-employed graduates, and persistent structural unemployment. On the other lies a different vision — one where technical and vocational skills, digital literacy, and a revived apprenticeship culture form the backbone of national development.
The launch of the NAP is a step in the right direction. But it must be more than symbolic. For the vision to succeed, Ghana must invest heavily — in infrastructure, capable instructors, relevant curriculum, and oversight — to ensure that young people are not just trained, but truly equipped.
As one expert summarised at the 2025 TVET assessment:
“This study is a powerful evidence base for decision-makers to future-proof Ghana’s TVET sector.”
To convert that promise into reality will require political will, sustained investment, and a cultural shift — one that honours not only university degrees, but also the trades and talents that build livelihoods, communities, and the economy.