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Ghana

Strategies for youth employment

Strategies for youth employment
Yes

Youth employment strategy planned in the next 2 years

Discussions within the government
Yes
Consultations with national-level stakeholders (e.g. employers’ and workers’ associations, youth councils, etc.)
Yes
A draft strategy already exists
Yes
Other (please specify)
No

Countries with national action plans for youth employment

Monitoring framework (timeline and activity/outcome indicators, e.g. youth labour market indicators)
Yes
Funding (indicative budget to implement the plan)
Yes
Institutional responsibilities (e.g. ministries/agencies in charge of specific planned activities )
Yes
Other, specify
No

Public funding for the national youth employment strategy

Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
Yes

Additional information:
-Youth Employment Agency -National Youth Authority

Youth in the national development / employment strategy

Youth in the national development / employment strategy
Yes

Additional information:
Youth are a target group in Ghana’s national policy framework. The Government of Ghana has included youth through various national strategies and policies, in particular the National Youth Policy (2022–2032), which provides a comprehensive framework for youth development and empowerment across multiple sectors. In addition, the importance of youth inclusion is emphasized in official documents such as the Parliamentary Briefing Paper titled “Mainstreaming Youth – The Key to Effective Youth Development in Ghana.” This paper highlights the need to systematically integrate youth-focused interventions into all aspects of national development planning and implementation.

Countries with national goals for youth employment

Countries with national goals for youth employment
Yes

Additional information:
• The Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship in Productive Sectors (YESp) programme focuses on enhancing youth employability and entrepreneurship in key economic sectors, particularly agriculture, digital technology, and light manufacturing. • The National Youth Policy (2022–2032) outlines strategic goals to empower young people through skills development, job creation, and active participation in the economy. • The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) implements various schemes to provide temporary and sustainable employment opportunities for young people, with a focus on skills training and job placement. • The National Employment Policy also includes youth as a core target group, with objectives focused on improving access to decent and productive work, especially in sectors with high potential for job creation.

Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment

Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
No

Policy areas in national youth employment strategies

Macroeconomic and Sectoral policies
Yes
Enterprise Development
Yes
Education, Training and skills development
Yes
Labour Demand
Yes
Labour Law and Legislation
Yes
Labour Market Policies
Yes
Other (please specify)
No

Social partners' inclusion in the youth employment strategy

Workers
Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
Fully involved
Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
Fully involved
Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
Fully involved
Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
Fully involved
Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
Consulted
Employers
Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
Fully involved
Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
Fully involved
Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
Fully involved
Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
Fully involved
Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
Consulted

Youth-led organizatios' inclusion in the national strategy

Fully involved
Yes
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
No
Consulted
No
Informed
No
Not involved
No

Countries with national partnerships for youth employment

Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
Yes

Additional information:
2025: Government agencies that promote youth entrepreneurship in Ghana include the National Youth Authority, Youth Employment Agency, National Entrepreneurship And Innovation Programme, National Board for Small Scale Industries, Vocational and Technical Training Centers and Microfinance programs. These entire agency body/institutions create partnership programs to promote youth employment. 2020: YEA modules on sanitation and waste management is being implemented by a private sector company.

Inclusiveness of vulnerable groups in national strategies

Women
Yes
Migrant Workers
Yes
NEETs
No
People with disabilities
Yes
Low skilled workers
Yes
Rural workers
Yes
Other (please specify)
No

Youth employment strategies and international cooperation

Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
Yes

Additional information:
2025: ILO -1. the Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work Project supports workers in the Textiles and Garments; and Shea value chains. 2. JobAgri Project also seeks to develop policies to enhance youth employment in the agric sector. WORLD BANK- Apprenticeship programmes, provision of business startup, assistance in the development Ghana Labour Market Information System, Provision of grants. GIZ - organisation of job fairs, skills development training, regular migration advisory services, start-up support (purchasing of tools and equipment). 2020: ILO provides technical support to develop policies and strategies for youth employment.