The Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Emmanuel Fynn Reagan, has described Ghana’s unemployment situation as "scary," warning that urgent measures are needed to address the growing challenge.

He said the number of young people entering the job market each year far exceeds the number of available jobs, making it necessary to equip graduates with skills that can enable them to create their own employment.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, September 17, Mr Fynn Reagan said the National Service Authority had a role to play in addressing the challenge by going beyond its traditional mandate of deploying graduates for national service.

“The unemployment situation in the country is very scary and if proper measures are not taken, it will lead to a different thing else,” he said.

“So we in National Service, we are also there to shape the economy. We are also there to transform the economy.”

According to him, many graduates struggle to secure employment after completing their national service, leaving them moving from one place to another in search of jobs.

“Most of the time what we see is that people complete their National Service, and you see them moving around everywhere looking, seeking jobs,” he said.

Mr Fynn Reagan questioned whether the country had enough jobs to absorb the growing number of young people entering the labour market each year.

“The question is how many jobs can absorb the teeming youth that comes out every year?” he asked.

Skills training

He said the National Service Authority had therefore decided to complement its core mandate by providing graduates with skills training to improve their ability to earn a living independently.

He explained that the initiative was intended to equip young people with practical skills that could enable them to establish businesses when they are unable to secure formal employment.

“That is giving them skill training and so that when they are done, they can do something on their own,” he said.

Mr Fynn Reagan said empowering graduates to establish small businesses could also help create additional employment opportunities for others.

He noted that graduates who successfully establish and grow their businesses could become entrepreneurs and employers themselves, contributing to efforts to reduce unemployment.

“If they are done and they have no chance on any employment, through the small businesses they can also create their own businesses, become business tycoons, become entrepreneurs, to employ others as well,” he said.

Mr Fynn Reagan said such an approach would help address the unemployment challenge by shifting some young people from job seekers to job creators.

“This is the only way we can reduce the unemployment situation in the country,” he said.