According to former president John Dramani Mahama, the rate of unemployment in Ghana is currently the highest it has ever been.
According to him, the current jobless rate is around 13%.
These were mentioned by Mr. Mahama in a speech he gave at the Academic City University College's graduation ceremony over the weekend.
The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the graduating students that “We left the university gates and walked into ready jobs waiting for us. There was automatic posting if you wanted to go into teaching. Many of us were retained and absorbed into workplaces where we had been posted for National Service.
"Premium banks and private companies like UAC, Lever Brothers, now Unilever, and Standard Chartered Bank swiftly hired our first-class colleagues as management trainees.
The world is very different today, which is either fortunate or disastrous for you. As temperatures soar to record highs, climate change is causing forest fires in the northern hemisphere. While the arctic ice is melting, coral reefs are dying. Either persistent flooding or severe droughts affect Africa. Invading from the south, the Sahara Desert poses a threat to our increasingly arid environment.
He continued, "Russia and Ukraine are at war. Conflict is raging in Sudan. Africa is home to numerous conflicts. Threatening to descend to the coast of West Africa, terrorists have seized control of the Sahel.
"There are no open positions that can take you. Finding a decent job could take you years. There are instances where graduates from universities are still looking for work five years later. Today's estimated 13% unemployment rate in Ghana is the highest in recorded history. It's a problem in our economy. Many employment have been lost as a result of the cleaning up of the banking industry and the closure of local banks.
“A Debt Exchange Programme has led to massive haircuts, eroding the capital of Ghanaian entrepreneurs, the income of middle-class families and pensioners’ savings.
“Our democracy is at risk with confidence and trust in leadership at its lowest ebb. But it is not all doom and gloom for you. You have laptops and tablets with more extensive storage and are faster than any computer in our time. You have numerous search engines that put the world of knowledge at your fingertips. But best of all, you are not stepping out of an Ivory Tower.
Universities have made adjustments to their courses over time to better incorporate and reflect the societies in which they operate. Academic City University College is one of them. An innovative educational institution that provides its students with the skills and information needed to alter society wherever they work.
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