By Frank Asiedu Bekoe, MP Suhum (Dep. Ranking, Employment Labour Relations & Pensions Committee)
Ghana’s youth unemployment debate has largely been framed around economic growth, job creation and political promises. However, an equally important dimension deserves urgent national attention: the potential national security implications of a generation increasingly disconnected from education, employment and skills development.
The latest figures on young people classified as NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) should concern every Ghanaian, regardless of political affiliation.
Nearly two million young Ghanaians between the ages of 15 and 35 reportedly fall within this category, with young women accounting for more than 60 per cent. These figures, attributed to the Ghana Statistical Service, represent more than an employment challenge. They expose a significant gap in the country’s capacity to prepare its young population for productive citizenship.
Behind every statistic is a young person whose potential remains largely untapped: a university graduate without employment, a secondary school leaver unable to afford further education, a skilled artisan without the capital to establish a business, or a young woman whose economic independence is constrained by limited opportunities.
The question Ghana must confront is whether it can sustain such levels of youth exclusion without creating deeper social, economic and security vulnerabilities.
Beyond unemployment: Understanding the security dimension
National security is often understood in terms of territorial protection, military preparedness, intelligence gathering and the prevention of external aggression. However, modern security thinking recognises that economic hardship, social exclusion and institutional inequality can also undermine national stability.
An unemployed young person is not automatically a security threat. The overwhelming majority of unemployed young people remain responsible, law-abiding citizens who aspire to build decent lives.
Nevertheless, prolonged economic exclusion creates vulnerabilities that criminal networks, political opportunists and other non-state actors may exploit.
One area of concern is political vigilantism. Ghana has experienced instances in which politically affiliated groups of young people have been associated with intimidation, electoral disturbances and acts of violence. Where economic desperation intersects with political manipulation, vulnerable young people can become instruments of activities that undermine democratic governance.
The solution is not to stigmatise unemployed youth but to strengthen their economic independence, civic participation and confidence in democratic institutions.
Another concern is organised crime and cybercrime. The growing digital economy has created enormous opportunities, but it has also opened avenues for online fraud and other cyber-enabled criminal activities. Young people without adequate employment opportunities or digital guidance may become vulnerable to recruitment into fraudulent networks.
While unemployment alone cannot explain criminal behaviour, economic exclusion and the attraction of quick financial rewards deserve consideration in Ghana’s crime prevention strategies.
Galamsey and the economics of desperation
The illegal mining menace presents another troubling dimension.
Across parts of Ghana, illegal mining continues to threaten water bodies, forest reserves, agricultural lands and community livelihoods. For some young people in mining communities, the immediate financial returns associated with illegal mining may appear more attractive than the uncertain prospects of legitimate employment.
This creates a difficult national development challenge.
Enforcement operations, arrests and equipment seizures may disrupt illegal mining activities, but sustainable solutions must also address the economic circumstances that make illegal mining attractive to vulnerable communities.
Young people must have credible alternatives through agriculture, responsible mining, technical training, local enterprise and other productive economic activities.
A national strategy against illegal mining that does not adequately address alternative livelihoods risks treating the symptoms without sufficiently confronting the underlying economic incentives.
The vulnerability of border communities
Ghana’s geographical position within West Africa also makes youth exclusion a matter of regional security interest.
The Sahel region has experienced the spread of violent extremism, transnational organised crime, trafficking and other security threats. Although Ghana has maintained relative stability, the country cannot ignore developments in neighbouring states.
Economically marginalised communities, particularly those with limited access to education, employment and public services, require deliberate attention.
It would be misleading to suggest that unemployment automatically leads to extremist recruitment. However, extremist and criminal networks can exploit grievances, economic vulnerabilities and weakened confidence in state institutions.
Preventing such threats requires more than military and intelligence operations. It demands investment in communities, economic opportunities, education, social protection and effective local governance.
The gender dimension of the crisis
Perhaps one of the most concerning aspects of the NEET figures is the disproportionate representation of young women.
If more than 60 per cent of the affected population are women, Ghana must recognise that youth employment interventions are not sufficiently understood through a gender-neutral lens.
Young women may face additional barriers, including early pregnancy, childcare responsibilities, inadequate access to vocational training, limited business capital and workplace discrimination.
These challenges can interrupt education and restrict economic participation for years.
Government interventions must therefore include practical support for young mothers, accessible technical and vocational education, entrepreneurship financing, digital skills training and opportunities for women-owned businesses.
Empowering young women economically is not simply a social intervention; it is an investment in household stability, community development and national productivity.
Government accountability: Where are the measurable results?
Ghana has never lacked youth employment programmes.
From the National Youth Employment Programme to the National Builders Corps (NABCO), YouStart and other entrepreneurship and skills-development interventions, successive governments have introduced initiatives intended to address unemployment.
The current government has also placed considerable emphasis on employment creation, including its proposed 24-hour economy.
These interventions must be assessed objectively, not merely by their announcements, budgetary allocations or number of beneficiaries registered.
The critical questions are straightforward.
How many sustainable jobs have been created? How many young people have transitioned from training into actual employment? How many beneficiaries have received the financial support promised under entrepreneurship programmes? How many businesses established through government interventions remain operational?
More importantly, what proportion of the nearly two million young people in the NEET category have been reached by these interventions?
Government must provide transparent, verifiable and regularly updated information.
The Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development Planning Commission and Parliament must work together to ensure that youth employment commitments translate into measurable improvements in people’s lives.
The opposition, civil society organisations, organised labour, private sector institutions and the media also have an important responsibility to scrutinise these commitments and demand accountability.
Youth unemployment should not become another political football that is kicked around during election campaigns and abandoned afterwards.
A national response beyond political cycles
Addressing the NEET crisis requires a coordinated national response.
First, Ghana needs a comprehensive national NEET reduction strategy supported by reliable data and measurable targets. The country must regularly establish how many young people are outside education, employment and training, where they are located and what barriers prevent their participation in productive activities.
Second, technical and vocational education must be made more accessible and responsive to the needs of the economy. Not every young person will pursue a university education, and that should not translate into limited economic prospects.
Third, entrepreneurship support must move beyond training workshops. Young people require access to affordable financing, mentorship, equipment, markets and business development services.
Fourth, local government institutions must be actively involved in identifying economic opportunities within their respective districts and municipalities. Employment strategies in an agricultural district should not necessarily be identical to those in an industrial or commercial municipality.
Fifth, government must strengthen the connection between educational institutions and industry to ensure that graduates acquire skills relevant to available and emerging employment opportunities.
Finally, national security agencies must work alongside development institutions to identify vulnerable communities and address the social and economic conditions that criminal networks may exploit.
Ghana cannot afford a generation of wasted potential
The NEET crisis presents Ghana with a difficult but necessary national conversation.
Our young people are not asking for sympathy. They want opportunities to work, acquire skills, establish businesses, support their families and contribute to national development.
They want an economy in which hard work and education offer a reasonable pathway to a decent livelihood.
A country cannot sustainably pursue economic transformation while a significant proportion of its young population remains disconnected from productive opportunities.
Neither can national security be secured exclusively through policing, intelligence gathering and military preparedness while the economic and social vulnerabilities of communities remain insufficiently addressed.
The responsibility does not rest on one political administration alone. Successive governments, Parliament, the private sector, educational institutions and civil society must recognise youth inclusion as a long-term national priority.
However, the government of the day has a particular responsibility to demonstrate that its policies are producing tangible results.
The nearly two million young people reportedly outside employment, education and training must not become a forgotten statistic in national development planning.
Their exclusion represents lost productivity, weakened household incomes, diminished opportunities and potential vulnerabilities to social instability.
Ghana’s greatest resource is not merely its gold, oil, cocoa or other natural endowments. It is the productive capacity of its people, particularly its young population.
The real national security question is not simply how Ghana will defend its borders, but how it will secure the future of the millions of young people whose potential remains untapped.
A nation that fails to invest in the productive future of its youth risks compromising the very stability and prosperity it seeks to protect.
The time to act is now.
