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Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) is advocating for the formal legalisation of Ghana’s National Apprenticeship Programme to guarantee its continuity and shield it from the risks of political neglect by future administrations.
The call was made during a youth-focused forum on Thursday, May 22, aimed at tackling youth unemployment and bridging the country’s widening skills gap.
Eduwatch’s Executive Director, Kofi Asare, stressed that several apprenticeship initiatives in the past had collapsed due to a lack of legal and financial structure to support their long-term success.
“One challenge has to do with sustainability. It’s always been a struggle. We’ve seen a tendency to do a legal and policy framework. If they remain in conventions, they will not be sustainable. But if we put them into law and then also develop different budgets to finance them consistently, then we have a structured model as well,” he explained.
He further emphasised the need to institutionalise apprenticeship systems across legal, policy, and budget levels to ensure steady funding, effective monitoring, and data-driven improvements.
The forum, organised by Eduwatch with support from Oxfam and the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), also pushed for more inclusive, climate-conscious, and digitally advanced apprenticeship models.
Highlighting the current challenges in Ghana’s apprenticeship landscape, Kofi Asare noted, “Youth unemployment stands at 14.7%, and our current apprenticeship models remain disconnected from the digital and green sectors.”
The discussion revealed that only 20% of students in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) feel prepared for digital careers, while just 25.6% are familiar with emerging green skills despite rising demand in areas like solar technology, sustainable agriculture, and recycling.
On gender and inclusion, it was noted that males dominate TVET enrolment, making up 74% of the student population. Stakeholders called for disability-friendly training, gender-balanced campaigns, and improved access to learning facilities.
Young participants also contributed ideas for transforming the apprenticeship landscape, including incorporating digital marketing, artificial intelligence, and robotics into vocational training.
Eduwatch concluded by encouraging young people to continue shaping the conversation by sharing innovative suggestions to help redesign Ghana’s apprenticeship framework for the future.
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