Entrepreneurship has become the game changer in the fast changing global world driven by technology and innovation, Executive Director of David Douglas Leadership Forum, David Douglas Tengey, has said.
To this end, he entreated educational institutions in the country to integrate entrepreneurship programmes into their curricula to help prepare students to think outside the box to create their own businesses instead of depending on white-collar jobs.
Speaking at the 2023 edition of the David Douglas Leadership Forum Quarterly Lead Yourself Conference for Senior High Schools students in Accra yesterday, Mr Tengey said entrepreneurship and skills development had become the new paradigm in view of the dwindling public and private sector jobs.
The conference which seeks to empower young people to strive to become ethical leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators and agents of change within the Ghanaian economy was on the theme "The Importance of Entrepreneurship in National Development."
It was attended by more than 600 senior high school students from Presec-Legon, Labone Senior High, St Thomas Aquinas, Chemu SHS, O' Reilly SHS, Our Lady of Mary SHS and Tema SHS.
Mr Tengey said vacancies within the public sector and in some cases, the private sector in the country were dwindling, saying this meant that "about 110,000 graduates produced annually will have a tough time getting jobs."
He said data from the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research had revealed that only 10 per cent of graduates find jobs after their first year of completing school.
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"Entrepreneurship is therefore the surest way to go if young people are to survive the challenges of these contemporary times, we find ourselves now," the Executive Director stated, adding that "Entrepreneurship did not only help one to develop himself or herself but creates the avenue for others to also be employed."
Mr Tengey stressed the need for young people to be trained right from the tertiary and senior high school levelto be innovative and ready to embrace the difficulties that come with putting together new ideas that would help transform society as well as ensure economic growth.
The Former Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier General Nunoo A. Mensah, urged the students to strive to become effective leaders to help change the worsening economic fortunes of the country.
He said the future of the country depended on the youth and it was incumbent on them to take advantage of the opportunities at their disposal to change the destiny of the country.
Professor Pikay Richardson of Manchester University of United Kingdom who spoke on the topic "The Importance of Mastering Leadership," said leadership was about mobilising people to achieve a common goal and leading a successful life was more than material wealth or money.
He said success in life could be attributed to the impact a person made to the society or community he or she lived and not money or material wealth and entreated the students to work hard to become successful in their educational journey to help improve the Ghanaian economy.
