Educational system must correspond to job market
An official of the Industrial Relations and Policy Institute of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mrs Mary Karim, has stated the need for the country’s educational system to respond to the skills need of industry and the job market.
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She observed that there was a weak linkage between the educational system and the productive sectors of the economy and stressed the need for that to be addressed.
Mrs Karim said this at the celebration of “Youth Day” in Accra last Wednesday.
Speaking on the theme, “Economic independence for the youth”, she said the situation had arisen as a result of the lack of interaction between the demand and supply chains.
Youth employment
Touching on the country’s labour force, Mrs Karim called on the government to create gainful and decent employment opportunities for the youth.
She said that was the surest way for the youth, who constituted about 60 per cent of the labour force, to improve their living conditions and contribute more effectively to economic development.
She urged the government to organise and support graduates with vocational and entrepreneurial skills who wished to set up their own businesses with the initial seed capital as a way of addressing the unemployment problem.
National Youth Policy
Mrs Karim commended the government for putting together the National Youth Policy which was expected to serve as a guide to decision making on unemployment.
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She said much as the government had been lauded for the policy, there were some areas that needed to be looked at and addressed.
She noted, for instance, the fact that the role the Bank of Ghana played in macroeconomic policy formulation was missing in the policy.
Mrs Karim urged the TUC’s youth committee to identify areas where it could tap into for the development of the youth.