The National Youth Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), George Opare Addo, has described the unemployment rate of 1.8 million tertiary graduates as “staggering” and a “time-ticking bomb waiting to detonate.” The challenge these young people face in securing quality jobs after school increases their vulnerability in society, making them susceptible to social vices and a source of conflicts and civil disorders.
The Youth Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) strongly criticized President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration over the alarming high rate of graduate unemployment in the country. George Opare Addo expressed his opinions on the Adekyee Mu Nsem morning show on Ahotor 92.3 FM hosted by Nana Alex Dogbey in Accra.
Opare Addo, a lawyer, accused the NPP administration of failing to deliver better governance for Ghanaians despite having access to a large sum of resources since it assumed power in 2017. He further expressed strong disapproval of the reported unemployment rates in Ghana under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s administration.
Opare Addo pointed out that the youth are more likely to accept recruitment into fighting forces when they face high incidence of joblessness. Lack of employment opportunities may result in social conflicts such as violence and juvenile delinquency, incurring high social costs. A comprehensive analysis of labor market challenges confronting the youth in Africa is required to find long-term solutions.
Speaking to the data, the educational dimension of youth unemployment indicates a higher rate among the educated compared to the less educated. This observation is linked to the fact that, with limited access to formal sector employment, the less educated tend to take refuge in the informal sector where education is not a barrier to entry.
On the contrary, young people with basic or no formal education experience lower unemployment rates because they have limited or no access to formal employment and often settle for informal agriculture and non-technical jobs that do not require formal education. The better-educated youth, however, tend to focus on the formal sector for employment, making the informal sector less attractive to them.
Despite the youth unemployment rate in Ghana remaining nearly unchanged at around 7.14 percent in 2022, there was a second consecutive decline. However, challenges persist for the youth, particularly those in their teens and early 20s, who face specific obstacles in accessing labor market opportunities. Lack of experience poses specific barriers to securing productive and better-paying jobs, aggravating their chances of employment in subsequent years.
Additionally, they face a higher risk of losing their jobs during economic downturns. The underutilization of youth skills not only exposes them to social exclusion but also has a triggering effect on intergenerational poverty.
Opare Addo emphasizes that, with the current 14.7% unemployment rate in the country, Ghanaians and the youth need to rise up and vote for the former president and leader of the National Democratic Congress. He believes that the former president has the vision to develop the country, contrasting the alleged collapse of the private sector by President Nana Addo and his vice president, which holds the economy as an engine of growth.
For further inquiries, you can reach AYM Kukah via email at kukahalexander7@gmail.com.
