Ghana needs a national employment framework that prepares young citizens for practical trades rather than corporate office jobs alone. John Awuah, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, announced this position in Accra. He stated that the country must redesign its training systems so graduates can earn steady incomes through independent enterprise.
Mr Awuah presented his recommendations during the 15th Absa-UPSA Law School Quarterly Banking Roundtable. He explained that corporate employers like Absa, MTN, and Goldfields Ghana cannot absorb the millions of young people seeking work each year. Households and commercial companies across Ghana face an acute shortage of certified technical workers, such as skilled plumbers and technicians. Educational institutions continue to produce academic degree holders who lack the hands-on technical skills that paying customers currently demand.
Youth unemployment remains a major drag on economic stability in Ghana. Data from national labour surveys show that formal corporate institutions employ less than 15 percent of the national workforce. Most workers must find livelihoods in informal enterprise and self-directed trade. The high cost of living forces families to look for reliable trade workers, yet formal vocational standards remain weak across the 16 administrative regions.
Mr Awuah urged state policymakers to broaden the definition of formal employment to include every legitimate trade that pays bills. "If our thinking of job is to work in Absa or MTN or Goldfields Ghana, no," Mr Awuah told participants at the UPSA Law School session. He argued that public authorities must craft credit and training policies that direct capital toward skilled trades rather than only office careers.
The financial sector leader warned that failing to create viable commercial pathways leaves idle youth vulnerable to unlawful activities. Public agencies must now coordinate with private commercial lenders to finance practical vocational training centres across Ghana. Labour economists and commercial banks will watch whether the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations incorporates trade apprenticeships into its formal policy agenda before 2026.