Accra: The World Bank Group has issued a call to the domestic private sector to take a more proactive role in shaping the country's skills pipeline, highlighting that ongoing employer passivity is exacerbating a mismatch between educational outcomes and labor market requirements amidst increasing youth unemployment.
According to Ghana Web, Paschal Donohoe, Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer at the World Bank, emphasized that companies must evolve from being mere recipients of graduates to actively participating in curriculum and training system design. He stated, "The private sector is not a passive recipient of graduates; it must be a co-designer of the talent pipeline."
In his lecture at the University of Ghana, themed 'Building Skills, Creating Jobs and Empowering Africa's Future', Donohoe described the situation as a structural coordination failure between education providers and employers, rather than a deficiency in graduate capabilities. He noted that the traditional model, where universities independently develop programs and firms absorb the available talent, is inadequate for an economy being transformed by artificial intelligence, automation, and the green transition.
The challenge is significant, with Ghana Statistical Service data showing approximately 1.34 million young individuals aged 15 to 24 are not in employment, education, or training (NEET), representing 21.5% of that age group. This issue is not unique to Ghana, as the International Labour Organisation estimates 262 million young people worldwide are in the same category. Across Africa, while 10 to 12 million young people enter the labor force annually, only about three million formal jobs are created.
Donohoe identified four key constraints in transitioning from education to work: a skills mismatch due to slowly evolving curricula, an experience gap leaving graduates without necessary workplace exposure, an aspirational imbalance focusing on formal sector roles over growing fields like agribusiness and digital services, and a deficit in foundational skills such as analytical reasoning and quantitative literacy.
Addressing students' questions, Donohoe stressed the rapidly changing work dynamics driven by technology, climate transition, and evolving business models, urging all stakeholders to adapt swiftly. He advised against viewing a university degree as a career endpoint, instead advocating for continuous learning and skill updating.
Donohoe highlighted successful models in economies like South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and Ireland, where industry and education alignment has closed similar gaps. Within Africa, emerging models involve using real-time vacancy data for digital skills training and integrating skills development into infrastructure projects, creating direct pathways from training to employment.
The World Bank's strategy focuses on enhancing early-stage learning, aligning education with labor market demand, and improving job-matching systems. The institution supports over 325 million students globally through its programs. However, Donohoe pointed out that the challenge now lies in political will and institutional capacity to implement these solutions at scale.
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, expressed the institution's readiness to strengthen collaboration with industry, emphasizing the need for graduates to be knowledgeable and adaptable to a changing economy.