He said this was important as these skills, knowledge and analysis would help inform student’s competency base.To this end, he has called for a strong cohesion between academia and industry players towards building the skills gap among the youth.

Mr Quainoo was speaking at the maiden skills gap summit organized by Dreamoval Foundation on the theme: "Bridging the Skills Gap, Creating Enabling Synergies between Industry and Academia".

He called on stakeholders to reform the education curriculum so as to meet the needs of industries."Doing so there is also the need for industry players to be an integral part of the governing and academic board for students to be exposed to the practicalities of the theories they learn throughout their stay in school and campuses," he stated.

Mr Francis Ahene-Affoh, the Vice President, Dreamoval Foundation, said skills gap was a major global challenge for emerging economies and the summit was aimed at creating the platform where industry players and government officials can have a place to discuss pressing issues associated with the prevalent skills gap.This according to him would encourage vain talk but create an avenue for commitment and points of collaboration for a successful implementation and growth of the economy.

Mr Ahene-Affoh said to ensure a future with a robust and continuous growth in the economy; a critical look must be given to the teething issue of skills gap in the country.Ms Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh, the Country Director and General Manager IBM, also noted that for Ghana to address the skills challenge there was the need for people to start thinking and acting differently at tender ages, have a mind shift and believe that Africans can do it.

"The time has come for Africans to stand up and address the challenges because nobody knows and understands our situation better than we do," she added.Dr Fred Asamoah Kyei, the Executive Director, Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) called for a sense of patriotism by owing the problem and see how best they could contribute to it.

Mr Patrick Awuah, the President and Founder of Ashesi University, explained that to bridge the skills gap there must be room for discipline, building rapport with industries, continuous assessment and accreditation systems to ensure the transformation of the country.Mr Olu Familusi, the Executive Director of SAP, called for the understanding of academia and businesses to ensure that challenges associated with skills development were tackled.

Stakeholders were engaged in discussions on the need to identify the skills gaps and how to bridge it for total transformation.