Flashback: Government cannot employ you - Minister tells graduates

In 2017, the Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, while addressing some 1,910 graduands of the Koforidua Technical University emphasised the need for graduates to take their destiny into their own hands by finding ways to create employment for themselves.

According to the minister, government, through some major policies, has made the private sector viable for entrepreneurs to thrive and urged the graduating students to “take this opportunity to drop any expectation of Public Sector that is going to provide you with jobs”.

“Be captains of your own fate and masters of your own destinies.” He added.

Read below an article published by starrfmonline.com on the minister’s statement:

The Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah has asked fresh graduates in the country to drop any expectations of being employed by government because the Public Sector doesn’t have the capacity to provide employment for all graduates.

According to him, the youth must take their fate and destinies into their own hands and mount projects as private sector entrepreneurs.

“This government has already extended a special hand of support to the private Sector and even calls this era a golden age for the private sector .Take this opportunity to drop any expectation of Public Sector that is going to provide you with Jobs .Be captains of your own fate and masters of your own destinies.”

The Minister made the comment on Saturday during graduation of 1, 910 graduands in Bachelor of Technology Higher National Diploma and Diploma Course at Koforidua Technical University in the Eastern region.

He said Technical Universities must be able to train students to be industrious and innovative to carve out a niche for themselves in the World of Industries.

According to Prof. Yankah, the implementation of Free SHS which runs parallel with Free Vocational and Technical education system is aimed at improving the human resources capacity, promote innovation and create new job opportunities as well as generate income and sustain the development.

He said the Free SHS policy is ” partly an insurance against unemployment.”

The Vice Chancellor of Koforidua Technical University, Prof. (Mrs) Smile Dzisi said, the University has elected to focus on soft and employable skills, innovation and entrepreneurial attitude as the trademark of the graduates through its Center for Entrepreneurial and Innovation Development (CEID).

She explained that, the center provides practical entrepreneurial training for students in alternate employment skills therefore charged the graduates not to join the queue of unemployed graduates.

The Vice Chancellor stated that, the Technical University has also strengthened its ties with industries and Institutions both home and abroad for practical knowledge and skills development of students.