More young people express interest in agric, vocational skills — Research

Majority of young people, about 91 per cent, have expressed their desire to work in the agriculture, vocational and technical (ATVET) sectors if offered the necessary training and skills. 

Also, more than 87 per cent of them said they were interested in having policy dialogues while more than 84 per cent said the sectors could make them rich and successful.

These were contained in findings of a research launched in Accra.

The research was commissioned as a part of the Ghana Grows Programme, a collaboration between Mastercard Foundation, the Springboard Road Show Foundation and Lyme Haus, aimed at helping to change the negative mindset about agriculture and ATVET, and also address issues of employment in the country. 

Survey

The survey captured the views of over 1,100 randomly selected young people between 15 and 35 years across all 16 regions of the country.

The findings showed that 46 per cent of them were unemployed, while 36 per cent have tertiary degrees.

It described young people's knowledge of agriculture and the ATVET sectors as commendable, since more than 80 per cent of them know that the sector goes beyond farming to include economic, science and engineering.

Only 40 per cent had knowledge of programmes and opportunities being offered for the youth, 33 per cent about programmes for women, and 24 per cent about programmes for PWDs. 

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Programme

The Executive Director of the Springboard Road Show Foundation, Comfort Ocran, said Ghana Grows was a three-year programme comprising a series of multi-faceted interventions.

It seeks to inspire young people aged between 15 and 35 years, especially women, to explore opportunities and deliberately pursue decent and fulfilling careers in the agriculture, agribusiness, technical and vocational sectors.

She said as part of the programme, Densu Associates was commissioned to conduct a survey to assess the knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) of young people across the country, particularly young people and persons with disabilities (PWDs) to provide evidence of their understanding, perceptions and attitude towards agriculture and ATVET.

The findings of the survey were discussed at a validation workshop with key stakeholders. 

Data clarity

Mrs Ocran further said that the programme planned to deepen clarity behind the data to help shape the thoughts of young people and also engage with policy makers and duty bearers on how they could support it to have the needed impact.

“It is necessary to capitalise on the positive attitude of young people towards the sector, improve their perception of it, create an enabling environment and clear pathways for them to participate in the agriculture and ATVET,” she added.

The programme intervention includes media learning broadcasts, career guidance and counselling, networking and mentoring of clubs, policy training and engagement, work readiness, and soft skills training, as well as job placement opportunities.