Ghana's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) financing system is failing to provide students with the skills employers need, leaving many graduates unprepared for the job market despite years of economic growth.

This is according to the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare.

Speaking on the theme, "Financing the Future: Aligning TVET Financing with Equitable Access, Quality and Human-Centred Skills in Ghana," at the just-ended International Conference on Education & Humanities at the University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Mr Asare argued that the country's skills development system is not keeping pace with labour market demands.

"In 2025, Ghana's economy grew by 6 percent," he said. Yet, "over 1.3 million young Ghanaians aged 15–35 are classified as Not in Employment, Education, or Training."

"The answer is simple: our growth is not sufficiently skills-rich; with the demand for skills not intersecting enough with supply."

According to Asare, Ghana's economic growth has largely been driven by services and extractive industries, sectors he said have weaker employment effects than manufacturing.

"This disconnect is a structural failure driven by a skills mismatch," he said.

He blamed part of the problem on inadequate investment in TVET institutions.

"Ghana is producing graduates that the economy cannot fully absorb, because our Training Institutions are expected to deliver world-class training on poverty-level budgets."

Growing enrolment, persistent challenges

Asare acknowledged progress in the TVET sector, pointing to rising enrolment figures under the government's reform agenda.

Public pre-tertiary TVET enrolment increased from 32,203 learners in the 2020/21 academic year to 72,200 learners in 2025/26, according to figures he presented.

The government has also developed a National TVET Policy framework and is pursuing the establishment of a dedicated TVET Fund.

However, Asare said the expansion has not matched the needs of Ghana's growing youth population.

Although people aged between 15 and 35 account for 36 percent of Ghana's population, only about 14 percent of secondary school students are enrolled in TVET programmes.

"The door has been opened, but the rooms inside are still not big enough, not well-equipped enough, and not funded well enough to serve the people walking through that door or assure those waiting outside of quality access."

He also highlighted gender disparities within the sector, noting that men account for more than 73 percent of TVET enrolment.

"TVET expansion that does not confront gender-based barriers is incomplete," he said.

The GHS33 funding gap

A major concern raised by Asare was what he described as an outdated financing model for practical training.

He said every student in a Technical and Vocational Institute receives a flat annual allocation of GHS33 for practical training materials regardless of the programme being studied.

The actual cost of training, however, is significantly higher.

According to figures he cited, training a student in catering or welding costs about GHS9,000 per year, while plumbing, electrical installation, fashion and carpentry cost about GHS6,000 annually.

"The average actual cost across trades is GHS6,500 per learner per year, government funding covers just GHS33. That is a 94 percent financing gap."

Asare said the shortfall directly affects learning. "A school requires 20 practical sessions a year to meet Competency-Based Training curriculum standards; under current funding, they manage only six."

He added that many institutions cannot afford enough materials for hands-on learning.

"Instead of dividing a class of 60 students into four smaller groups for hands-on learning, schools can only afford materials for one single demonstration."

"Sixty students watching one instructor is not skills training - it is a spectacle."

Employers reporting skills gaps

The financing challenges are also affecting graduate preparedness, Asare said, citing findings from an ACET and Eduwatch study.

According to the study, 80 percent of employers identified practical training gaps as their top hiring challenge, while 70 percent cited soft skills deficiencies.

Another 40 percent pointed to skills mismatch, and 30 percent reported outdated knowledge of technology trends among graduates.

"In simple terms, we are training people for a market we are not listening to, with tools we cannot afford to buy, for skills that companies tell us are not job-ready."

The same study found that fewer than 30 percent of TVET institutions receive labour market information from government.

Infrastructure and digital deficits

Beyond financing, Asare highlighted infrastructure shortages across TVET institutions.

According to data from the Ghana TVET Service cited in the presentation, institutions across the country require hundreds of additional classroom blocks, workshops and dormitories, as well as more than 206,000 student desks and 116,000 dormitory beds.

He said regional inequalities remain a major concern. The North East Region, for example, has a 100 percent shortfall in dining furniture despite all three of its TVET institutions operating as boarding schools.

Asare also raised concerns about digital readiness. According to figures he cited, only 10 out of Ghana's 261 TVET schools have internet access, while institutions require an estimated 3,425 additional computers to meet basic ICT needs.

"We are training the workforce of the Fourth Industrial Revolution without internet access in 96 percent of our training institutions."

He added that only 20 percent of TVET students felt adequately equipped with digital skills by 2025.

Call for reforms

To address the challenges, Asare called for the rapid establishment of a dedicated TVET Fund, reforms to the current costing model, stronger private-sector participation, increased investment in digital and green skills, and the creation of a national skills anticipation system.

He argued that investing in TVET is essential to Ghana's future.

"Ghana has 73.5 percent of its population below the age of 36. That is either the country's greatest asset or its greatest crisis; depending entirely on whether we choose to build the systems that convert potential into capability."

He concluded that the country's challenge is no longer about recognizing the importance of technical skills but finding the resources to support them.

"The question is not whether Ghana can afford to finance TVET properly. The evidence proves that Ghana cannot afford NOT to invest properly in TVET."