The government says it is working to equip Ghanaian youth with the skills, digital capabilities and partnerships needed to access employment opportunities beyond Ghana.
Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, said the changing nature of work, driven largely by technology and artificial intelligence (AI), requires Ghana’s youth development policies to look beyond the domestic job market.
Speaking at the Pan-African AI & Innovation Summit 2026 in Accra, Mr Opare Addo called for the creation of a borderless African talent ecosystem where young people can use recognised and portable qualifications to compete for jobs across different markets on the continent.
He identified initiatives such as the AI for Youth Africa Fellowship and frameworks under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as key platforms for expanding opportunities and facilitating the movement of skills across Africa.
Mr Opare Addo said government was also deploying technology to make youth programmes more accessible and link young people directly to opportunities.
He cited the National Youth Tracker Platform and YouthXplore App, which he said use data and AI-curated pathways to connect young people to jobs, apprenticeships, mentorship opportunities and funding.
The Minister also highlighted the One Million Coders Programme and the Adwumawura Programme as part of efforts to prepare young people for emerging opportunities in sectors including artificial intelligence, digital services, agribusiness and manufacturing.
He stressed the need for greater private-sector participation in the design of youth development initiatives to ensure that training programmes respond to the actual skills required by employers.
According to him, stronger collaboration between government and businesses would help establish clearer pathways from training to employment while enabling young people to apply their skills and earn sustainable incomes.
Mr Opare Addo said combining skills development with access to finance, mentorship and employment opportunities would position Ghanaian youth to play a greater role in Africa’s emerging talent economy.
He said the broader objective was to enable young Ghanaians to compete in African and global labour markets while contributing meaningfully to the country’s economic transformation.
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