Ghana faces a looming national crisis if immediate and decisive steps are not taken to curb the rising tide of youth unemployment across the country, a prominent labour expert and senior lecturer, Dr Aaron Kumah, has warned.
His reaction follows the latest report from the Ghana Statistical Service, which revealed that nearly two million young Ghanaians between the ages of 15 and 35 were neither employed nor participating in education or training during the third quarter of 2025.
The data highlighted a striking gender disparity, with young women constituting more than 60 per cent of the affected group.
“The latest figures from the Ghana Statistical Service are a clear wake-up call. Having nearly two million of our youth—especially young women who make up over 60 per cent of this group—sitting idle without employment, education, or training is a ticking time bomb for this nation. We cannot afford to sit by while an entire generation loses its productive years.”
Speaking on Rainbow Radio’s flagship news programme, Nyankonton Mu Nsem, Dr Kumah expressed deep concern over the persistent disconnect between the academic curriculum and the actual demands of the job market.
He explained that many graduates remain unemployed because the knowledge and skills acquired in tertiary institutions do not align with industry requirements.
“There is a fundamental disconnect between what is taught in our lecture halls and what the job market actually requires. We are graduating thousands of young people every year who hold degrees but lack market-relevant skills. Until we realign tertiary curricula with current industry demands, we will continue to churn out qualified graduates into unemployment.”
Beyond educational gaps, Dr Kumah pointed to changing social attitudes among the youth, noting a worrying preference for quick wealth and easy living over practical skills acquisition and productive entrepreneurship.
He argued that Ghana continues to spend substantial resources importing basic goods that could easily be manufactured locally to generate sustainable jobs for young people.
“We are witnessing a worrying shift in youth attitude where the desire for quick wealth has overshadowed the value of practical skills and genuine entrepreneurship. At the same time, Ghana continues to spend huge foreign exchange importing basic everyday goods. We ought to be producing these items locally, using our own manpower to fuel sustainable job creation.”
Dr Kumah further faulted successive government interventions for failing to adequately align vocational and technical training with contemporary economic needs.
“Successive government interventions have simply fallen short because they fail to tie technical and vocational education to the real needs of today’s economy. What we need is a targeted national initiative: sponsor selected individuals to acquire advanced, specialised skills abroad so they can return home, set up local training hubs, and build capacity at scale.”
He advocated for a targeted national strategy where selected individuals are sponsored to acquire advanced specialised skills abroad, returning home to establish training hubs that empower others.
The labour expert emphasized that heavy investment in practical skills development and local manufacturing remains the most reliable pathway to equipping the youth with market-relevant skills, expanding employment opportunities, and safeguarding the economic future of the nation.
“The surest pathway to securing Ghana’s economic future lies in heavy investment in practical skills development and domestic manufacturing. By empowering our youth with practical capabilities and expanding our industrial base, we will solve the unemployment crisis and safeguard national stability.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
