ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AND TRAINING AS A MEANS OF REDUCING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN GHANA: PERSPECTIVES OF NATIONAL SERVICE PERSONNEL IN THE BRONG AHAFO REGION OF GHANA

Youth unemployment has been a global challenge for several decades bedeviling several nations whether developed, developing or undeveloped. This global phenomenon became more pertinent since 2007 owing to the global economic crunch when youth unemployment increased by over 4 million, totaling about 75 million thereby putting the current global rate at 12.6% (ILO, 2012). In Ghana graduate unemployment has been a major socio-economic challenge facing the country. Research has shown that about 300,000 young graduates enter the labour market every year with less than 6,000 (3%) getting formal employment. It is also believed that only two out of ten graduates who complete national service every year get employment in the formal sector. Whilst these statistics may be very alarming, many young graduates still hold the notion that it is the responsibility of the state to provide for their economic needs and expect the government to employ them. As a result, unemployment still constitutes a major challenge. Using questionnaires and interviews, opinions of 100 national service personnel (NSP) were solicited. Findings reveal that there is lack of knowledge of the needed skill sets the job market requires. There also appear to be a wide disparity between what graduates are exposed to during their undergraduate training and the demands of the labour market. This paper argues that there is the need to create the right environment and introduce courses that would change the mind-sets of students whilst in training to enable them get exposed to skills and competencies that could make them independent to start a venture of their own, even whilst in school. The paper further argues that the curriculum for such training should provide a strong grounding in managerial and leadership fundamentals while highlighting the strategic role entrepreneurial mind-set plays in enhancing business performance and creating competitive advantage. The paper concludes that without governmental and private sector support to training institutions as well as collaboration between key stakeholders in ensuring relevance and the required linkages between training providers and users, solving the unemployment challenge in the medium to long term may be far-fetched.