It’s 2020, and Ghana stands poised for major economic growth. The biggest asset for Ghana is our young people. As such, Africa is the youngest continent in the world and Ghana stands out by having almost 60% of its population under 25 years of age. It is critical therefore, that Ghana focuses on skill development for the youth both for economic growth as well as social development.
The focus needs to shift on strengthening the foundations of the education that will prepare these young people to enter the workforce. Along with school learning, the need of the hour, in this era of technology, is to train as many people in working with, and developing newer technologies. Whether it is bio sciences, genome research, health care or information technology, a progressive country must create an ambient infrastructure for learning all streams of technology.
Information technology is an indispensable tool which is at the core of several traditional enterprises. Whether it is Manufacturing, health, banking, construction, all rely on IT for their regular functions to team collaborations. Having an all rounded IT skills through the knowledge of systems, software, hardware or security, empower an individual to be at the core of an organization and become part of the senior most management.
In the early 1990s, when IPMC started out on its journey in Ghana, the awareness that formal education alone cannot supply the skills and understanding of real work environments was just beginning to form. Over the years creation of a skilled IT force has propelled the skill economic prosperity of this region.
The greater involvement of the industry in partnering with schools and colleges, and developing a curriculum that is at par with global industry trends is something that has the potential to be a game changer for the youth of the country. Programmes such as IPMC’s skills enhancement franchise work directly towards creation of skills which the industry requires the most.
There is a sense of pride an individual gains when apart from the academics he/she gets equipped with practical hands on skills essential for today’s work environments. This has led to the birth of many tech startups and individual entrepreneurs providing several useful services next door.
This generation of technology professionals are poisoned to become the industry leaders in the coming times. Nation building starts at the grassroots when we equip the common man with the right skills to grow.
