Ghana, alongside much of Africa, faces a significant development challenge: too many people aspire to be employed rather than to create the enterprises that provide jobs. Millions of young Africans enter the labour market each year, yet formal employment opportunities remain scarce for a fraction of them. This creates a growing queue of job seekers, deepening frustration and making unemployment a persistent issue across the continent.
The core problem, as identified by Professor Douglas Boateng, is not that employment is devalued. Instead, employment is often valued more than wealth creation itself. Success is frequently measured by salary size instead of the number of livelihoods created. Societies tend to celebrate individuals who secure a payroll position but pay less attention to those who create the payrolls. This preference for a stable salary over the uncertain path of entrepreneurship shapes societal aspirations and hinders the development of new industries and businesses.
This trend has broad implications for Ghana's economic trajectory. The African Development Bank estimates that between ten and twelve million young Africans enter the labour market annually. In Ghana, a significant portion of these individuals compete for limited formal sector jobs. During the colonial era, educational systems focused on compliance, preparing individuals for administrative roles. Today's economies demand creativity, innovation, and enterprise. However, many educational systems still emphasize examination performance and memorisation over developing skills in opportunity identification, risk management, and enterprise building.
Professor Douglas Boateng, a Chartered Director and Engineer, highlights this by stating, "A society that produces more job seekers than job creators eventually discovers that vacancies cannot multiply as fast as people." He points out that entire families might celebrate one new salary while overlooking the individual creating twenty salaries. This mindset, often shaped by family conversations and societal norms, can discourage entrepreneurship. The questions asked at graduation ceremonies, such as "Have you found a job yet?" instead of "What business are you building?" reveal this underlying societal focus.
The long-term consequences of this imbalance are profound. Without a robust ecosystem of job creators, the number of available jobs will always lag behind the growing demand. This can lead to increased dependency on foreign investment and aid, rather than fostering indigenous economic growth. Decision-makers need to re-evaluate educational curricula and societal incentives to encourage a stronger culture of entrepreneurship. Future attention should focus on fostering innovation and enterprise development, which are crucial for sustainable job creation and wealth generation in Ghana.