If you cannot employ us, help us get jobs remotely

Mostly, I, alongside Barnes and Caleb, often reflect on what Chinua Achebe says “when we gather in the moonlit village ground, It is not because of the moon, every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for Kinsmen to do so”.

Our unity is rooted in the value of kinship and the friends we make at Republic.

Here, we engage in discussions about Ghana, delving into topics ranging from our nation’s progress to the challenges we collectively face in Corporate Ghana. 

I then recalled a piece I wrote last year about how my Legon friends are leaving the country, and as I did the roll call, Bright, now thriving as a Ph.D, candidate at Missouri State, comes to mind, as does Kofi Nkrumah, pursuing his doctorate at St. Louis. Manuel Koranteng, having transitioned from Joy News to Sussex in the UK, gets attention for his remarkable work at the University of Sussex, where he showcased the photographic legacy of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

His nomination for the Discovery of the Year award at the EMY Africa Awards stands as a testament to his achievements.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nketia Yeboah of UGMC has embarked on a new academic journey at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, epitomizing a trend of international pursuit of knowledge and the list continues.

Usually, Republic Bar isn’t filled on Tuesdays, but to our amazement lately, we see a lot of young people sitting at the Bar on working days, I was later told that, the night lifestyle has improved in the capital because of the changing culture of work and that many of these young people also work for corporations outside the country.

Honestly, that’s what caught my attention. Many young people in Ghana work for corporations like IBM, VISA, MasterCard, Chase Bank, and other great companies across the globe.

So, they work so hard during the day time in their rooms and later come out to meet their friends at the Republic and other places in the capital. These roles are data analytics, column writing, data science, and other computer literacy jobs that pay better than a senior managerial role in Ghana because they are paid in dollars.

I have been very happy because the youths have learned and are learning to acquire hard skills and literacy to take these good roles and to take care of their families because we are still battling unemployment in the country. 

I love what the Legendary Ghanaian Fred Swaniker is doing across Africa. Fred has touched so many lives and founded the African Leadership Academy and its network. 

Two months ago the network launched ALX, which is a leading technology space training provider, built to accelerate the careers of young Africans through the technology and professional skills that enable our youths to thrive in the digital world we find ourselves.

In fact, I realised most of these young people with remote jobs are from the hub. The fact is and let’s face it, in 2035, Africa will have the largest workforce in the world and we will need to catalyze transformation by empowering the largest untapped resources of our population to take up the leading roles in the digital economy.

But apart from these initiatives from private persons and individuals, what can the government do as it controls the resources of the country and the power to formulate policies to promote the growth of our young people?

I believe that the government can set up learning hubs in districts, secondary schools, and Universities to train students with coding skills, data management, data science, and analytics to help them take up jobs outside the world because unemployment will continue to linger, and the manifestos of political parties will continue to propose unrealistic solutions to them.

When our young people are trained with these skills, they will compete for jobs outside the country with the acquired skills will have a great effect on our economy and protect our national security because we all know unemployment is a big national security issue.

Over these years I have not seen any feasible and impacting policy the youth agencies of government are doing to improve the young Ghanaian digitally to evolve in the world we find ourselves.

If governments cannot take up the role alone, they can create partnerships with other private institutions and agencies to roll out this digital initiative.  But I dare say that from the reports and the testimonies of others, the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat is really doing well in educating our youth in the most renowned educational centers across the globe. 

Aside the government’s intervention and formulation of policies to improve the skills of the youths, I believe many institutions can also contribute to this, for example, Stanchart, Absa, Ecobank, and other firms teaming up set up learning and mentorship programs that will train students with cooperate governance, corporate skills and other important skills that will develop the student before they join the working class. Weekend Microsoft class for Humanity students, banking and finance skills for the young, and many training programs.

These programs would imbue students with corporate governance knowledge, professional skills, and work ethic. In the development of the country, we all must get involved because countries are not built like the Pharaohs built the pyramids, they’re built every day. 

The point is our population is young, and talents in the world are increasingly concentrated in Africa, which means Ghana isn’t different. As the world ages, our part of the world remains young with an average age of 19 years, as we collectively build our nation, the reality remains that Ghana’s youth are a vibrant and talented demographic.

While global talents gravitate towards Africa, we must harness this potential. By equipping our youth with the skills demanded by the contemporary world, we position them to excel on a global scale.

If opportunities within our borders are scarce, let us champion initiatives that enable our youth to thrive beyond our shores. In nurturing this symbiotic relationship between skill development, global employability, and.. If you cannot employ us here, help us to get jobs outside the country!

Article written by Emmanuel Owusu Agyei Ampem.

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