The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Osman Ayariga, has called on young people to acquire technical and vocational skills to improve employability, promote entrepreneurship and contribute to the country’s economic transformation.
He said the future depended largely on how effectively it prepared its youthful population to meet the changing demands of the labour market, and added that although Africa had the world’s largest youthful population, the advantage would only become meaningful if young people acquired practical and marketable skills.
“If the youth are skilled, they become an asset; if they are not, they become a liability,” Mr Ayariga said at this year’s World Youth Skills Day commemoration in Accra today (July 15).
The celebration organised by the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, was on the theme: “Skills for a Shared Future.”
World Youth Skills Day is observed annually on July 15 to highlight the importance of equipping young people with technical, vocational and life skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.
Youth empowerment
Mr Ayariga said the NYA, under the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, was implementing programmes to provide young people with practical skills, entrepreneurship training, leadership development and employment support.
He said the Authority was also collaborating with CTVET to implement the National Apprenticeship Programme, which provided competency-based and industry-driven skills training through master craft persons.
He further said the programme also promoted the inclusion of young women and persons with disabilities, adding that it exceeded its participation target for persons with disabilities last year.
He urged trainees to focus on acquiring practical skills rather than merely obtaining certificates, adding that the NYA was establishing co-working spaces and providing start-up tools to support beneficiaries after training.
Mr Ayariga encouraged artisans to improve their work ethics, punctuality and professionalism to remain competitive.
“You may be the best fashion designer or hairstylist, but if you cannot deliver on time, people will lose confidence in your services,” he said.
He further encouraged young people to embrace lifelong learning and continuously upgrade their skills to remain competitive in a rapidly changing world driven by digital technology and artificial intelligence.
“The future of Ghana will not be built by chance. It will be built by young people with the right skills, the right mindset and the right opportunities,” he added.
Population
The Director-General of CTVET, Zakaria Sulemana, said the country’s youthful population presented enormous opportunities for national development if equipped with relevant technical and vocational skills.
He said the country had about 11.8 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35, representing 38.2 per cent of the country’s population; however, more than 1.3 million young people aged between 15 and 24, representing 21.5 per cent of that age group, were neither in employment, education nor training.
He said the figures highlighted the urgent need for a responsive skills development system aligned with labour market demands.
Mr Sulemana said CTVET continued to prioritise competency-based training, modernised curricula, stronger industry partnerships and quality assurance to ensure graduates acquired practical and job-ready skills.
He said the Commission remained committed to building an inclusive CTVET system that prepared young people for decent work, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning.
Strategic pathway
The Chairman of the Governing Board of CTVET, Nii Doodo Dodoo, said technical and vocational education was a strategic pathway to innovation, entrepreneurship and national transformation.
He said the country’s industrialisation, digital transformation and sustainable economic growth depended on a skilled workforce and urged the government, industry, educational institutions, parents and development partners to strengthen collaboration to ensure that CTVET remained responsive to emerging labour market demands.
He further encouraged stakeholders to demonstrate through practical actions that technical and vocational education was no longer a second-choice option.
