The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, says the education sector needs to support young people at all levels to develop creativity, critical-thinking and problem-solving mindsets, so they can ‘think out of the box’, and see themselves as future employers, entrepreneurs and innovators.

According to her, in a context with limited jobs but huge growth potential, young people will be at the forefront of starting new businesses, finding new solutions, and creating jobs for themselves and others.

Making remarks at the Innovation for African Universities (IAU) reception, Madam Thompson said it is vital to have initiatives like the IAU, to better align the skills focused on by the education sector, with the needs of the job market, economy and society, adding, “we are already exploring how to strengthen these linkages across 5 key sectors of the economy - garments, pharmaceuticals, car assembly etc - through the FCDO’s ‘Jobs for Economic Transformation’ programme.”

“Many students in tertiary education in Ghana are concerned about getting jobs. They have seen their peers graduate, then struggle to find work that fits their skills and qualifications. As the Government of Ghana has recognised, the education sector needs to support young people at all levels to develop creativity, critical-thinking and problem-solving mindsets”, she explained.

“We can’t wait to see what this project and these new partnerships lead to. Post-COVID-19, the world desperately needs new ideas, new solutions, and new enterprises to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and a better world for everyone. We can’t keep thinking and working in the same ways. I want to see more Transnational Education Partnerships between Ghana and UK universities in areas of mutual interest”, she pointed out.

Universities must be strengthened to play key role in entrepreneurship

Acting Country Director of British Council of Ghana, Chikodi Onyemerela, said the overarching objective of the programme is to strengthen the capacity of Universities and increase their capability to participate and provide meaningful contributions as key players within the entrepreneurship and Innovation systems.

 “Given the dire economic situation and uncertainty across the continent, it is critical to explore alternatives and potential solutions to improve the employment situation. This quest for solutions has triggered a renewed focus on the higher education landscape. Higher Education Institutions are producing graduates with varying skills and require further training to meet workplace/employment needs”, he stressed.

“While graduates need to be more employable, universities also need to produce job creators instead of job seekers, as a result, Universities are gravitating towards Innovation and Entrepreneurship as exploratory solutions to the youth employment issue”, he further said.

The programme is delivered by a Centre of Excellence managed by a consortium of Universities, comprised of City, University of London, the University of Nairobi and ChangeSchool London.

Over 50 applications were assessed through a rigorous process of multistage evaluation, and 24 projects were selected to be a part of the programme.

Four out of 24 (17%) of the IAU cohort 1 grants were awarded to Ghana. The Ghana Partnership network is made up of a total of 13 organisations including 5 Ghanaian institutions