Exploring Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as an Opportunity in Addressing Youth Unemployment in Awutu Senya East Municipality

Abstract

Ghana’s youth population currently stands at 36 percent of its total population, with 54 percent living in urban areas. Data from the 2021 National Population Census indicate that 19.7 percent of unemployed adults are classified as youth, with those between the ages of 15-24 years recording a much higher rate-32.8 percent (GSS, 2021). As the country works at addressing the issue of unemployment, interventions have been put in place, one of which is technical and vocational skills acquisition. A mixed method approach was used to carry out the study in the Awutu Senya East Municipality. Data was obtained from 120 unemployed youth aged 15 to 35 years as well as 15 in-depth interviews conducted with young people in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. The study assessed knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of the youth towards TVET, opportunities and challenges of the youth in TVET and examine the extent to which the youth perceive TVET as a solution to unemployment. The results of the study show that respondents perceive TVET as the solution to youth unemployment in the municipality and that the knowledge gained regarding the types, opportunities, and challenges TVET provides influences their attitude towards accepting it. The results further indicated a general perception that having adequate funds was a significant influence on their employability within the TVET sector. The study showed that almost all the respondents expect many interventions from the government. Additionally, the respondents were willing to adopt TVET as a skill relevant for employment, although the majority preferred formal employment. The study therefore recommended more investment into capacity building and knowledge management and sharing, with emphasis on generating resources to establish their businesses after the skill acquisition and sustainable government interventions through policies, funding, and scholarship award schemes.