By Yussif Ibrahim
Kumasi, July 26, GNA – A group of unemployed graduates are calling on the government to take immediate and decisive action to address graduate unemployment in the country.
The group, the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates of Ghana (CUGG), said it was deeply disappointed and concerned about the escalating graduate unemployment crisis that continued to plague the nation without any solution in sight.
According to them, the current administration had failed to tackle graduate unemployment despite numerous promises to address what had become a national threat during the last two elections.
A press release issued by the Coalition and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said graduate unemployment had skyrocketed to uncontrollable levels, leaving educated youth in despair and economic hardship.
The release signed by the group’s Coordinator, Kwaku Asare Prince, expressed disappointment in how various interventions introduced by the Government to create job opportunities had yielded little or no results.
Programmes such as the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), as well as the One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative have failed to create the needed employment for the Ghanaian youth, according to the release.
“NABCO was supposed to provide temporary employment and skill development for graduates, but it has failed to transition participants into permanent jobs. Similarly, the Planting for Food and Jobs programme is aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and to create jobs in the sector, but its impact has been minimal,” the release said.
It further said, “The 1D1F initiative, which was intended to spur industrialisation and create employment opportunities in every district, had also fallen short of its targets. These programmes have collapsed, leaving graduates aimless and hopeless, and their lives have worsened significantly.”
The issue of graduate unemployment, according to the release, was a critical rallying point that convinced most Ghanaians to vote for the current administration with a promise to ensure a robust job market and a thriving economy, but little has been achieved in that regard.
Graduates have rather been plunged into severe hardship with no relief in sight, a clear indication that the promises made to the youth have been broken and their hopes and aspirations dashed.
The release referred to a recent report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) which revealed that a staggering 1.9 million Ghanaians are unemployed, out of which 1.3 million are made up of youth.
Urgent steps must, therefore, be taken by the Government to create employment for the thousands of youths sitting at home without jobs.
GNA