By Ernest Addo
Parliament was stirred when Dr. Stephen Amoah rose with a bold proposition to make entrepreneurship a core subject in Junior High Schools and an elective at the Senior High School level.
His message on June 3, 2025, was clear and urgent, Ghana must stop training only job seekers and start raising job creators.
Addressing the Speaker, Dr. Amoah described entrepreneurship not merely as business ownership, but as the courage and competence to create opportunity. It is the power to build something from nothing, to innovate, to take risks, and to generate wealth instead of waiting for employment letters that may never come.
The country’s job market, he warned, is heavily congested, such that every year, thousands of graduates’ step into a shrinking employment space, armed with certificates but stranded without opportunity. The system, he implied, is producing more hopeful applicants than available desks.
Citing data from ISSER, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nhyiaeso constituency in the Ashanti region, revealed a sobering statistic: only about 10 percent of Ghanaian graduates secure employment within a year of graduation. Even more troubling, the average graduate may spend up to five years searching for a job. Out of nearly 110,000 university graduates each year, barely 10,000 find immediate employment, leaving roughly 100,000 young people in limbo annually.
The consequences, he suggested, go beyond economics. Youth unemployment feeds insecurity, robbery, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and other social challenges. The link between joblessness and social instability is no longer theoretical- it is visible in communities across the country.
History, he reminded the House, belongs to entrepreneurs. From replacing kerosene lamps with gas lighting in the 1800s to pioneering electricity, computers, the World Wide Web, spreadsheets and life-saving drugs- entrepreneurs have shaped civilizations. Innovation has always been the engine of transformation.
Globally, the private sector drives socio-economic growth. Nations that thrive do so because they empower innovators, nurture small businesses and encourage enterprise. Ghana, Dr. Amoah argued, must align itself with this global reality.
Frustrated graduates are not only drifting into illicit ventures; many are fleeing the country in search of greener pastures. The loss of skilled labour weakens national productivity and erodes Ghana’s competitive edge. The cost of inaction is national stagnation.
Ironically, Ghana is richly endowed with raw materials and natural resources. From agriculture to minerals, tourism to technology, the opportunities are vast. What is lacking is structured preparation- a deliberate cultivation of entrepreneurial thinking from an early age.
Dr. Amoah admitted that Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem remained fragile. Stakeholder coordination is weak. Structural and functional capacities are limited. Policy intentions often fail to translate into measurable job creation.
He proposed redefining Ghana’s corporate focus, embedding entrepreneurship in major policy decisions, and harmonizing stakeholders to create a supportive environment. Government, academia, financial institutions and industry must work in concert, not in silos.
The heart of his proposal was simple yet transformative: introduce entrepreneurship as a compulsory subject at the Junior High School level and as an elective in Senior High School. Teach students how to identify opportunities, manage resources, innovate and build sustainable ventures.
Such reform, he argued, would ignite the entrepreneurial appetite of Ghana’s youth. Instead of waiting years for employment, young people would leave school equipped to start small, grow steadily and employ others in turn.
Dr. Amoah, therefore, appealed directly to the Ministry of Education and relevant stakeholders to expedite action. The future of Ghana’s economy, he suggested, may well depend on what is taught in today’s classrooms.
