The unemployment headache

It is quite disheartening that many graduates, after completing school, cannot gain decent employment and have to depend on their already overburdened parents for their sustenance.

Fresh graduates seeking to channel their creative talents into useful ventures and sharpen their skills on the job through hands-on approach are virtually rotting at home.

These untapped human resources have expertise that cuts across many professions - from engineering, architecture, journalism etc which given the right mentoring would have made significant contributions towards national development.

Sadly, Ghana after 50 years of independence has not been able to draw up a comprehensive plan to tackle this depressing situation.

Political leaders continue to make promises of addressing this situation when voted into office but none have been able to remedy it.

One can only imagine the frustrations that the large number of graduates coming out of our tertiary institutions are going through.

Countries with less economic resources that literally started off with Ghana have been able to create jobs for their graduates and even export them to other countries, an example being Singapore, due to the result-oriented policies pursued by their leaders.

Compared to some of these developing countries, economists have indicated that Ghana still operates a “colonial economy”. Corruption and outright embezzlement from state coffers is another factor accounting to the inability of government to grow the economy in order to provide jobs for the youth.

Given Ghana’s fertile land, rich vegetation and mineral resources, it would have been a pleasure to watch its economy and the people flourish.

Our policymakers should aim at building consensus across board to look at the bigger picture of job creation so the youth can direct their energies into them.

It is only when the youth are engaged in productive ventures that the peace of the nation can be guaranteed.