Ghana’s youth unemployment crisis in 2025 is more than a statistic—it’s a reality affecting thousands of young people like Kwesi, who remain without jobs, income, or direction. Despite numerous government training programmes, a recent ISSER report confirms what many youth have long felt: the system is failing.isser.ug.edu.gh+1
If you’re under 30 in Ghana, you’ve probably heard of programmes like the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Youth in Agriculture Programme (YiAP), and Nation Builders Corps (NABCO). These initiatives come with official fanfare, yet youth unemployment continues to hover as a storm cloud over the country’s future.
When ‘Empowerment’ Isn’t Empowering
ISSER’s 2024 Ghana Social Development Outlook, launched in July 2025, breaks down the situation with hard numbers and direct analysis. While the 10-chapter report covers education and employment among other areas, its findings on youth unemployment strike a particularly painful chord.
Although government initiatives like the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Youth in Agriculture Programme (YiAP), and Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) offered training and temporary placements, they overlooked what young people truly needed. Programme designers created training modules in silos without involving the youth or aligning content with their goals, interests, or ambitions.
“We Trained You!” But For What, Exactly?
Many youth left training programmes more confused than empowered. Most programmes emphasized agriculture and basic entrepreneurship, ignoring fast-growing sectors such as tech, digital services, creative industries, and healthcare.
Even NABCO, a flagship initiative, offered temporary placements that failed to meet the International Labour Organisation’s standards for decent work. Delayed stipends forced some participants to drop out entirely, further eroding trust in the system.
Dr. Martha Awo, Head of ISSER’s Social Division, put it plainly:
“Policy makers continue to ignore young people’s interests when designing training modules and job opportunities.”
The Real Root of the Problem
ISSER identifies two key causes behind Ghana’s persistent youth job crisis:
- Mismatch of skills – Youth are being trained in things the market doesn’t want.
- Lack of job availability – Even if they had the right skills, the economy simply isn’t creating enough roles for the massive number of young people entering the workforce each year.
It’s not just a policy gap. It’s a failure to listen. A failure to adapt. A failure to take the energy and potential of Ghana’s youth seriously.
So, What Would Real Progress Look Like?
Imagine a system where youth aren’t passive recipients but active co-creators. Where training is shaped around real market needs, and young people’s dreams. Where data, not politics, guides programme design.
Dr Awo recommends:
- Making training fit-for-purpose, not just generic.
- Prioritising decent jobs, not just placements.
- Including youth in design and decision-making.
- Conducting tracer studies to measure real outcomes over time.
Time for a Policy That Outlasts Elections
Professor Peter Quartey, ISSER’s Director, didn’t hold back either. He called for a comprehensive national employment policy, one that doesn’t get scrapped or rebranded every election cycle.
Instead of piecemeal, fragmented projects, Ghana needs a unified strategy that:
- Builds on what works.
- Fixes what doesn’t.
- Survives beyond the term of one administration.
For the thousands of young Ghanaians trying to build a life or just survive this is more than a policy suggestion. It’s a lifeline.
The Future Is Still Up for Grabs
Ghana has a youth population filled with ambition, creativity, and drive. What it doesn’t have is a system built to match that energy with opportunity.
We don’t need more “empowerment” speeches. We need decent jobs, relevant skills, and meaningful inclusion.
The government says youth are the future. But the real question is, will they be allowed to shape that future?
For more grounded insights on policy, careers, and youth impact across Africa, visit Inside Success Ghana
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