Dare to Develop

A new World Bank report titled “Youth Employment Programs in Ghana: Options for Effective Policy Making and Implementation” identifies agribusiness, entrepreneurship, apprenticeship, construction, tourism and sports as key sectors that can offer increased employment opportunities for Ghanaian youth.

It also calls for more investments in career guidance and counselling, work-based learning, coaching, and mentoring to equip young people with the skills needed for work. The report suggests that although these are not new areas, the government could maximize their impact by scaling up these priority areas in existing youth employment interventions and improving outreach to the youth.

Ghana is faced with 12% youth unemployment and more than 50% underemployment, both higher than overall unemployment rates in Sub-Saharan African countries. Despite major investments by both government and private sector, this challenge will intensify if job opportunities remain limited.

To tackle youth unemployment, the report highlights the importance of having disaggregated data on youth job seekers by location, gender, skills, and capabilities to inform policy and funding decisions and respond with appropriate and tailored employment programs.