Government is expanding opportunities for young people through entrepreneurship support, skills training and digital education, Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has said.
She said the initiatives were intended to equip young people with the skills and resources needed to secure livelihoods and contribute to Ghana’s economic development.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang made the remarks at the West Africa Youth Days in Accra, a gathering of Catholic young people from across the West African region. The 2026 edition is being held in Accra from September 4 to 11, bringing together young people for fellowship, learning and discussions on their role in building peace and strengthening the region.
Speaking at the event, the Vice President cited the Adwumawura Programme, the National Apprenticeship Programme and the One Million Coders programme as some of the government’s interventions to create opportunities for young people.
She said the Ejumaura programme provides entrepreneurship training, business development support and access to funding, with support targeted at 10,000 youth and businesses each year.
The National Apprenticeship Programme, she said, was expanding opportunities for young people to acquire practical, technical and vocational skills and translate those skills into livelihoods.
She also said the One Million Coders programme was equipping Ghanaians with digital skills needed to participate in a rapidly changing economy.
“These are investments in young people, but they are also investments in the stability and prosperity of our country,” she said.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said government programmes alone could not address every challenge facing young people, stressing the need for continued efforts to improve education, create opportunities, support enterprise and build an economy capable of creating decent and productive work.
“Our education must open doors to opportunity. Those who want to learn a skill must be able to do so, and hard work must offer a credible path to a better life,” she said.
The Vice President said creating credible opportunities for young people was important to peace and stability in West Africa, where communities were also confronting insecurity, extremism, economic pressures, irregular migration, misinformation and climate change.
She urged young people to take an active role in building peaceful societies, saying their choices, relationships, enterprises and responsible use of information would contribute to shaping the future of the region.
