Prioritizing Entrepreneurship in Pre-Tertiary Education Crucial for Job Opportunities, Lecturer States

Dr Martin Thompson Ntem, the Director of Training at the Institute for Digital Marketing and Communication (IDMC), Ghana, has urged the mainstreaming of entrepreneurship training into pre-tertiary curricular.

This, he said, would help in building a strong human resource base for growing the national economy  through Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) – the backbone of the country.

Dr Ntem said this at the third, in a series, of a five-day training in advocacy journalism for staff of the Ghana News Agency at Sogakope in the Volta Region.

Educating students to develop innovative entrepreneurial mind-sets at the basic level  would help them gain the necessary skills for effectively managing and growing businesses sustainably.

They would become passionate about creating more jobs and reducing the employment burden on the government, he explained.

Journalists,  he encouraged, must, therefore, make this an advocacy focus.

Dr Ntem stated that the government could only employ about 20 per cent of the country’s labour force, making the private sector, including MSMEs, a pivotal employee.

Hence, training students with entrepreneurial skills right from the basic level would help change the reliance of graduates o public sector employment.

Dr Ntem noted that entrepreneurship offered many opportunities for job opportunities and security and encouraged the government to invest money into the sector.

Mrs Beatrice Akua Asamani Savage, the Director of Editorial, GNA, said the training was part of the Post COVID-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project, aimed that facilitating the restoration of livelihoods.

It also aims at building capacity in the health sector, especially, in higher education to promote health delivery.

The government of Ghana project has funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), with implementation support by the Social Investment Fund (SIF).

The training of GNA journalists is being run by IDMC Ghana.

The five-year Post COVID-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project (PSDPEP), she said, would train GNA journalists in advocacy journalism in four priority areas.

They are Health, Gender, MSMEs and Climate Change.

The Director of Editorial encouraged the journalists to ensure the success of the project and to do more advocacy stories to promote national development.

The stories should be those that citizens could relate with and have an impact on their lives, enabling them to also contribute to national development.

Participants were taken through lessons such in health communication, gender mainstreaming, digital storytelling, climate change and environmental sustainability and MSMEs growth.

The GNA is part of five institutions, including Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), benefiting from the project.

The rest are the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Biotechnology Centre and the Department of Medical Microbiology, all the University of Ghana.