Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has announced plans by government to ensure employment for the youth through its ‘One Million Job Initiative’.
Speaking at the Mid-Year Budget Review, he said that despite the “generally strong” performance of the economy, the issue of unemployment and jobs for the youth, who constitute close to 71% of the population, persist.
Thus, the government plans to ease the constraints of the private sector to enable the sector to expand and provide jobs for the youth, Mr Ofori-Atta told Parliament on Thursday, July 29.
“Recognizing that more needs to be done, Government is today announcing a “One Million Jobs Initiative” to aggressively respond to the need of the country. This is to promote growth in SMEs, support new ventures, and stimulate innovation and start-ups,” he said.
The Finance Minister stated that there have been key obstacles that stands in the way of the private sectors’ growth and ability to absorb jobs.
Citing a recent survey, he indicated that about 50% of local employers report misalignment of or inadequacy of skills in the market.
The survey, he added, also reported that at least 50% of new tertiary institution entrants are enrolling in programmes in sectors with no or little growth in the labour market.
In response to this, the Finance Minister said that the government is working to strengthen the links between education and job market stakeholders.
“We are also revitalizing the skills development initiatives under Ghana Enterprises Agency, NEIP, YEA and COTVET. We are also feverishly working on a scheme that enables the private sector to train new recruits/entrants at a subsidized rate by the Government.”
Mr Ofori Atta added that government intends to build an entrepreneurial nation that aims to empower the youth to be at ease and venture into businesses.
“The clean-up of the financial sector and the invigoration of the entrepreneurial eco-system is expected to help remove the binding constraints of financing and market linkage for our daring youth. Our focus will remain on establishing a strong value system for entrepreneurship to flourish,” he added.
Latest Stories
-
How a 23-year-old fooled the internet with an AI Kendrick Lamar diss track
1 min -
No man should be intimidated by the strength of a woman – Charlotte Oduro
4 mins -
Ghana is not immune to terrorist attack – National Security
4 mins -
WAFU B U-17 Championship: Ghana drawn in Group A, face Benin and Cote d’Ivoire
27 mins -
Two hit by stray bullet as Police clash with ‘wee smokers’
39 mins -
Okyeame Kwame aims for another Artiste of the Year win after 15 years
51 mins -
NAGRAT gives government one-week ultimatum to redeem unpaid pensions for 700,000 workers
53 mins -
Deloitte launches Technology, Media and Telecom predictions for 2024
1 hour -
Meta AI expands to Ghana, Nigeria and other countries in Africa; adds new features
1 hour -
GPL: Expect a new Kotoko against Samartex – Ogum tells fans
2 hours -
Court orders service of notice for DNA test to Mohbad’s wife
2 hours -
Changes to Ghana’s oil and gas royalty and licensing scheme to be implemented in 2024
2 hours -
Ghana’s oil production to rebound in 2024 growing by 5% – Fitch Solutions
3 hours -
Davido gifts fan $50K to clear off her student loan
3 hours -
Netflix: Profits soar after password sharing crackdown
3 hours