The Ministry of Labour has signed a partnership agreement with the global employment initiative, Instead, to help address youth unemployment in Ghana through practical skills training and job creation programmes.

The partnership is expected to equip young people with marketable skills, improve their readiness for available job opportunities, and support the government's broader employment agenda.

Speaking after the agreement on May 4, the Global Chief Operations Officer for Instead, Nicolas Gasser, said the organisation plans to establish a physical training campus in Ghana where young people will receive hands-on training over nine months.

“What we are doing is a practical employment initiative where we want to train and skill youth in Ghana on a physical campus that we are going to build. They go through a programme of nine months, and after that they learn the practical skills to access and enter the job market immediately,” he said.

Mr. Gasser explained that although Ghana’s economy is showing signs of growth, unemployment among young people remains a pressing challenge. He added that the initiative would also help attract investors by creating a reliable pool of skilled labour.

“Ghana has a lot of great goods to export, but the import rate is too high today. Having investors come into Ghana and having these skilled people means we can grow the economy together. We are going to attract external investors and companies to make it more attractive to invest in Ghana because we have talented people,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reducing unemployment and creating opportunities for young people.

“At the run-up to the elections, we realised that the key issue about the last government was that they were unable to create job opportunities for young people. Lots of young people were eager to work, but many had finished university at various levels and did not have jobs to do. A key thing this institute is bringing out is to get the people who have finished school, train them, equip them, and give them a job. So this is the time for that, to close the job gap,” he stated.

Latest official data from the Ghana Statistical Service places Ghana’s unemployment rate at 13 percent in the third quarter of 2025, with youth unemployment significantly higher at 34.4 percent.

The new partnership is expected to complement government efforts to reduce unemployment while improving Ghana’s competitiveness as a destination for investment and industrial growth.