Gov’t Shifting Focus From Public Sector Jobs To Private Sector Growth – Veep
Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has disclosed that the government is shifting its employment strategy from public sector recruitment to private sector growth, saying the public sector alone cannot absorb Ghana’s rapidly growing working-age population.
She was speaking at the World Bank Western and Central Africa Senior Leadership Team Retreat in Accra, where she was invited to speak on how Africa’s economies can create enough opportunities for its people.
According to her, the government is now focused on creating the conditions for businesses to start, grow, compete and employ more people, anchored on a stable economy, stronger institutions, and an education system that prepares people for current and future jobs.
“Our working-age population is growing rapidly, so the public sector cannot employ everyone. We are therefore trying to create the conditions for businesses to start, grow, compete and employ more people,” she told the retreat.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said access to affordable capital remains a major constraint, with many viable Ghanaian businesses unable to secure financing, especially women-owned enterprises.
She said the proposed Women’s Development Bank is intended to help women-owned businesses transition from small enterprises into stronger, sustainable businesses that can create jobs.
On skills, she said initiatives such as the One Million Coders Programme and the strengthening of Technical and Vocational Education and Training will be judged not by enrolment numbers but by outcomes – whether beneficiaries are able to find work, build businesses, solve problems and create value.
She added that the digital economy offers Ghana an opportunity to connect local talent to global demand without forcing young people to migrate.
The Vice President also called for more purposeful production, including processing more of what the country produces and ensuring that farmers, processors, transporters and other local businesses capture more value in the agricultural chain.
She noted that while the African Continental Free Trade Area provides access to a market of 1.4 billion people, that market means little without productive capacity, finance, infrastructure and skills to compete.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang further emphasised learning from history to shape better policy choices, stressing that education must ultimately induct people into productive life.
“We should be interested not only in how many young people enter our schools and training institutions, but also in where they end up, what they are able to produce, what opportunities they can create,” she stated.
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