Unemployment blues - Panellists Fault Educational System

By Liberty Amewode

Participants at a roundtable discussion last week unanimously agreed that there is a huge disconnect between educational institutions and industry.

They contend that the high rate of unemployment in the country was as a result of the inability of educational institutions, especially tertiary institutions, to produce graduates who have the requisite skills to operate effectively in current economic trends.

One of them, Kwaku Sintim-Misa, popularly known as KSM, a satirist and motivational speaker, said he believed there are more opportunities existing than before, apparently referring to the technological advancement witnessed over the last decade culminating in the springing up of many companies.

According to him, a majority of graduates had not prepared enough to tap into the advantages offered by the present global dispensation, adding that it needed much entrepreneurial skills to survive in the globalization phenomenon currently sweeping over the world.

The discussion was the second edition of the Accra-based Radio Gold Breakfast Series on policy formulation and impacts on the society, which was on the theme: “Graduate Unemployment in Ghana: From Job Search to Job Creation”.

Other members of the panel included the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr E. T. Mensah, Chairman of rlg Group of Companies, Mr Roland Agambire, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Employers’ Association, Mr Alex Frimpong, CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB), Mr Kojo Twum-Boafo, an Independent Member of Parliament and Businessman, Mr Seth Adjei Baah (a.k.a Shaaba), and the Project Director of Adrenaline Media, Godwin Nartey.

They attributed the present situation to the inability of the country to adjust its educational priorities to changing times.

Mr Twum-Boafo is of the view that the issue was rather whether the youth possessed the requisite skills and not whether opportunities exist, and sided with KSM over the issue.

He cited an instance where a company, registered with his outfit, had to bring in welders from Philippines and Bangladesh to work on its projects, saying that it was because the company could not find such specialized skills in the country.

Mr Twum-Boafo took issue with the Polytechnic system and did not mince words at all when he described it as a failure.

“I am sorry to say this but the Polytechnic system has failed,” he said, adding that many of the polytechnic graduates had to go back to the university to acquire degrees.

He therefore called for a reassessment of the system and its reorganization to make them degree awarding institutions.

The CEO of rlg Communications for his part debunked the notion that money was the most important ingredient in setting up a business. He said the ability to package one’s vision, culminating in a convincing business proposal, was what many financiers looked out for, in investing money into a project.

Mr Agambire observed that the youth lacked vision and mission, saying those were the main ingredients in creating wealth.

He urged the youth, especially young graduates, to believe in themselves and venture out to pursue their dream.

Mr Alex Frimpong of the GEA said the real issue had to do with attitude. According to him, the attitude of the youth to their duties and responsibilities with regard to wherever they find themselves after school was what determines whether things would turn out good.

He said a lot had changed over the years, calling for a situation where ‘the skills needed in the current arena should be taught in the educational institutions’.

“Until this is the case, the country will continue to battle with the unemployment situation”, he cautioned.

Mr Frimpong noted that apart from the skills acquired, there must also be competencies that will fuel the persons ability to be useful to himself and others.

“Acquiring skills is not enough, there should be competencies that will aid or fuel the skills for you to be more beneficial to yourself, to the society and to the nation”, he said.

On his part, Mr Seth Adjei Baah, who is also the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce, wondered whether Ghana really has an unemployment situation on its hands. He said it was one thing having employable people with no jobs and another thing having jobs with no employable people.

“We have to ensure that our people are really employable”, he stated, adding that a lot has to be done about the educational system.

For Godwin Nartey of Adrenaline Media, many graduates come out of school not knowing what they really wanted to do. He is of the view that the youth generally do not have the mindset to be entrepreneurs.

The Minister of Youth and Employment, Mr E.T. Mensah, for his part, attributed the situation to the lack of exposure and career advice, observing that that was the missing link, which precipitated the total disconnect being witnessed between school and industry.

He also touched on the issue of attitude, noting that positive attitudes were key to successful entrepreneurship. thebusinessanalystgh@gmail.com