UNICEF Ghana, in partnership with the Government of Ghana, has commissioned a comprehensive study in the Ashanti Region.
The research was conducted to assess the skills offered by public and private TVET institutions and compare them with the skills demanded by the private sector.
The key finding of the assessment is a mismatch between the skills employers require and those that job seekers possess.
This results in an oversupply of certain trades and a critical shortage of others, a statement issued in Accra said.
It said significant gaps were identified in several areas:
“Curriculum misalignment: Curricula often don't align with industry demands. For example, in Agriculture, a dominant sector in the Ashanti Region, the TVET system is woefully underserved.”
“Only one of the 57 pre-tertiary TVET institutions offers training in agriculture, despite a high demand for agro-processing skills.
Similarly, in ICT, despite rising demand, only four out of 57 institutions offer related training,” it said.
The study revealed that while employers cited weak practical and soft skills among graduates, the graduates themselves rated their preparedness more positively.
“The increase in enrolment due to free TVET education, while encouraging, is overwhelming infrastructure and undermining the effectiveness of Competency-Based Training (CBT), compromising the quality of delivery.
“The study employed a mixed-methods approach, including institutional visits, employer surveys and interviews across key sectors (agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, and construction), and stakeholder consultations with educators, past students and policymakers.
This comprehensive methodology allowed for a nuanced understanding of both the supply and demand sides of the skills ecosystem,” it said.
