Ghanaian government beefs up efforts to boost youth employment

The Ghanaian government is stepping up policies to create more jobs for the youth as the country’s high unemployment rate has become a growing menace.

During the launch of the World Bank’s latest economic report on Ghana, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta described the 12.6-percent youth jobless rate in Ghana as “scary,” stressing that the Ghanaian government had placed economic transformation and job creation at the center of its national development agenda.

With a focus on empowering the private sector to become a vital engine for job creation, the government is implementing the COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support program to enable modernized agriculture and manufacturing expansion to absorb unemployed youths, according to Ofori-Atta.

The finance minister said other interventions geared towards entrepreneurship development would also help young entrepreneurs gain access to capital, training, technical skills, and mentoring to launch and operate their businesses.

“Successful implementation of these initiatives will be instrumental in addressing the country’s youth unemployment challenge,” noted Ofori-Atta.

Persistent youth unemployment is among the most pressing economic challenges confronting many developing countries, including Ghana. The situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely impacted businesses and led to job losses. Enditem