Skills development, prerequisite for decent employment – AGI
Dela Gadzanku, First Vice Chairperson of the Eastern/Volta Regional Branch of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), has called on academia to partner industries to give students practical meaning to the theory learnt in school.
He said many graduates faced difficulties in finding jobs apparently because of the mismatch between their education and training, and the labour market requirements.
Mr Gadzanku was delivering a public lecture in Accra on the 63rd Founders Day Anniversary of the Keta Secondary School on the theme: “Liberalisation of Tertiary Education in Ghana – Implications for the Labour Market.”
Speaking on the calibre of graduates from tertiary institutions, he said developing the skills of students would increase the productivity and employability both in the formal and the informal sectors.
He said skills development could help build a “virtuous circle” in which the quality and relevance of education and training for graduates would fuel innovation, investment, technological change, enterprise development, economic diversification and competitiveness that economies needed to accelerate the creation of jobs.
He said skills including vocational and technical had become increasingly important in the globalised world and employers seek applicants with multiple abilities.
“The core skills for employability are both important to employers and enhance an individual’s ability to secure a job, retain employment and move flexibly in the labour market,” he said.
On linkage between training institutions and industry, he said good quality primary and secondary education, complemented by relevant vocational training and skills development opportunities, prepare future generations for their productive lives.
He noted that currently graduates from tertiary institutions go through strenuous processes to get decent jobs and earn decent wages and salaries.
“A fresh graduate from the university now carries his CV as if it were a Bible or a Quran,” he added.
He said understanding how businesses operate would give young people a better insight of the world of work and enhance their employability.
He suggested that government should slowly abandon policies aimed specifically at promoting the employment of new graduates and encourage them to create their own businesses and accept the realities of the times.
“We have to encourage our young graduates to start thinking of setting up their own businesses as a realistic and desirable career option,” he said.
He called on the Ministry of Education to create a directorate on youth enterprise development.
Source: GNA