Industry and Youth Push for Skills-Based Policy Change

Accra: Stakeholders from government, academia, private sector, and youth-led organizations gathered at the Youth Employment and Skills (YES) Chapter Pan African Coalition for Transformation (PACT) Knowledge Café in Accra, with a common goal - to strengthen Ghana's policy development through inclusive dialogue, youth voices, and industry participation. Mr. Eric Safro, Team Lead for Skills and Innovation at Youth Opportunity and Transformation in Africa (YOTA) and Coordinator for the anchor institution implementing YES PACT in Ghana, explained that the initiative supported government policies across their lifecycle - from development to implementation and review. 'Rather than confront government, we partner with them, bringing young people, technical experts, and industry voices to the table,' he noted.According to Ghana News Agency, the Knowledge Café platform, a core activity of YES PACT, encourages youth participation in shaping policy through 'knowledge products' like newsletters and policy briefs. At the event, members of the Young Diplomats of Ghana presented two briefs - one on education and another on employment - along with a newsletter focused on education. These explored how existing policies affect youth and offered concrete recommendations.A major highlight was the discussion on Ghana's ICT in Education Policy, with contributions from the Ministry of Education, the Sector Skills Board, and youth groups. Participants explored how to integrate youth feedback into policy, and ensure digital tools in schools reflect industry standards. Mr. Safro emphasized the importance of integrating local languages to expand access to digital tools. 'Language can be a barrier to ICT access. If people can use technology for entertainment in their own languages, why not for education too?' he questioned.Mr. Sammy Amegayebo, Executive Director of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) and Chair of the Sector Skills Body for Construction, underscored industry's role in shaping technical education. 'As key beneficiaries of skills training, we must guide policy so it aligns with industry needs,' he said, adding that technical and vocational training was critical for Ghana's industrialization agenda.While commending the ICT in Education policy initiative, Mr. Amegayebo also addressed the challenges of language diversity. 'It's not a bad idea to use local languages, but with over 40 in Ghana, we may need to adopt a dual system - one native and one international language - for effective implementation.'Both speakers stressed that a skilled, digitally literate youth population is essential for Ghana's future, and achieving that requires inclusive, youth-centred, and well-aligned policy efforts.