The head of Deloitte Ghana has called for structural economic reforms to confront what he described as a deepening graduate unemployment crisis, warning that Ghana’s current economic model cannot generate jobs fast enough to absorb its growing pool of university graduates.
Daniel Kwadwo Owusu, Country Managing Partner of Deloitte Ghana, made the call on Thursday at the 10th Ghana Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Summit and Expo held at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra, themed “Accelerating Ghana’s Economic Transformation: Driving Bold Reforms through Leadership, Technology, and Industrialisation for Sustainable Growth.”
He cited research indicating that only around 15 percent of graduates secure meaningful employment within six months to two years of completing university, while many others remain unemployed or underemployed for up to six years before finding permanent work. He attributed this largely to Ghana’s dependence on mining and a narrow set of industries that cannot absorb the volume of graduates produced annually.
Owusu identified the digital economy as one of the most significant untapped opportunities for job creation, pointing to sectors including e-commerce, artificial intelligence, digital trade, platform-based services, digital financial solutions, and technology infrastructure as areas where meaningful employment could be scaled if government policies were more deliberate.
He also advocated substantially greater investment in technical and vocational education, referencing the experiences of China and Japan in using technical training to build globally competitive industries and manufacturing capacity.
On industrial policy, Owusu called for incentives and relief measures for manufacturers to support expansion and employment. He also highlighted the National Policy on Integrated Oil Palm Development as a promising initiative that, if effectively implemented, could establish approximately 10,000 hectares of new plantations, create around 250,000 jobs, and unlock a 500 million dollar financing package.
He expressed support for the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) Bill, describing it as an important step toward improving investor protection, modernising dispute resolution systems, and strengthening Ghana’s investment environment for both local and foreign capital.
Owusu urged government, the private sector, and civil society to deepen collaboration on policy implementation, innovation, and inclusive decision-making to drive sustainable economic growth and job creation.
