- but call for requisite training and skills
The majority of young people have a positive attitude toward the Agriculture, Technical and Vocational sectors, with over 91 percent of them stating they would be happy to work in these sectors if they had the necessary training and skills. Similarly, over 87 percent of young people are interested in having policy dialogues; and more than 84 percent believe that the sectors can make them rich and successful.
These are part of the findings from a nationwide research launched in Accra. The research was commissioned as a part of the Ghana Grows Programme, which is a collaboration between Mastercard Foundation, the Springboard Road Show Foundation and Lyme Haus, aimed at helping to change negative mindsets about agriculture and ATVET – and address the issue of employment among Ghana’s youth.
Speaking at the launch, Comfort Ocran, Executive Director of the Springboard Road Show Foundation said: “Ghana Grows is a three-year programme comprising a series of multi-faceted interventions that seek to inspire young people aged between 15 and 35 years, especially young women, to explore opportunities and deliberately pursue decent and fulfilling careers in the Agriculture, Agribusiness, Technical and Vocational sectors”.
As part of this programme, Densu Associates was commissioned to conduct a survey to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Perception (KAP) of young people across Ghana – particularly young women, youth and persons with disabilities – to provide evidence of their understanding, perceptions and attitudes toward Agriculture and ATVET.
The survey’s findings were discussed at a validation workshop with key stakeholders, including young people. The survey captured the views of over 1,100 randomly selected young people between 15-35 years from across all 16 regions of the country. The findings showed that 46 percent of the young people surveyed were unemployed, with 36 percent having a tertiary degree.
Young people’s knowledge of the Agriculture and ATVET sector was commendable, with over 80 percent of them knowing that professions in the sector go beyond farming to include economists, scientists and engineers.
However, only 40 percent had knowledge of programmes and opportunities being offered for youth, 33 percent knew about programmes for women and 24 percent knew about programmes for persons with disabilities. The Ghana Grows Programme plans to deepen clarity behind the data to help shape thoughts of young people and engage with policymakers and duty-bearers.
“It is therefore necessary to capitalise on the positive attitude of young people toward the sector, improve their perception of it, create an enabling environment and clear pathways for them to participate in the Agriculture and ATVET sectors,” organisers noted.
Ghana Grows is rolling out a comprehensive set of programmes nationwide in all 16 regions of Ghana to provide for young people in both the formal and informal sectors and young people with disabilities. The programme interventions include media learning broadcasts, career guidance and counselling, networking and mentoring clubs, policy training and engagement, work-readiness and soft skills training, as well as job placement opportunities.
