What We Do

Unemployment is the number one challenge currently faced by young people in Africa, and yet employers say they are unable to recruit people with the right skills. Africa’s economy and future prosperity depend on ensuring that employers have skilled workers to maintain and grow their businesses. The opportunities are there, but young people need the right skills to be able to access them. Skilled workers make individual companies and industry sectors more competitive, and skills development training helps lift individuals out of the poverty cycle.

As African countries aspire to join the ranks of developed countries, the need for a skilled workforce becomes even more necessary. The country needs a skilled labour force to construct and maintain roads, buildings, railways, and bridges. Training individuals to be technically skilled mechanics, engineers, shoemakers, and garment makers, among other professions, increases a country’s competitiveness globally. Individuals who acquire TVET training in jewellery making, auto and refrigerator repairs, electronic repairs, etc., often set up their own businesses and enrol new entrants for training. As a matter of fact, countries like the Asian Tigers—Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan—with well-established TVET systems tend to enjoy lower youth unemployment. This is because the orientation of TVET coupled with the acquisition of employability skills allows it to address issues such as skill mismatch that have impeded smooth school-to-work transitions for many young people. Lower youth unemployment is key to improving lives and building stronger communities necessary for growth.

SGF invests in this burgeoning youth population by developing technical vocational training programs that encourage young people to pursue entrepreneurial ventures and equipping them with financial resources and training. Through our vocational and technical education program, we equip students with a broad range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are indispensable for meaningful participation in work and life. Our activities prepare trainees to become effective professionals in a specific vocation.

The SGF is committed to reducing the unemployment rate in Ghana and supporting Ghanaian youth to gain relevant skills required for the workplace. In addition to promoting quality training through TVET schools, thekey priorities of SGF are to improve public awareness of TVET and strengthen industry-TVET linkages in partnership with Ghanaian employers.