That would enable them to create jobs and wealth for themselves instead of looking elsewhere for employment.

Speaking at the 6th congregation of the Takoradi Technical University (TTU), the Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, said he was of the firm belief that fresh graduates from the country’s technical universities had enough skills that could turn them into employers instead of job seekers.

“As you graduate, you will expect jobs in the formal sector. The truth, however, is that the job landscape is changing. The formal sector does not have the capacity to absorb the teeming graduates that are churned out every year, unlike in the past,” Mr Darko-Mensah said.

“The remaining 95 per cent has to be created through private initiatives and I am counting on you to lead the charge. I have always believed in the private sector as the engine of socio-economic prosperity,” the minister said.

He said the government, through smart means, had created the enabling environment for start-ups to launch entrepreneurial initiatives into formidable corporate institutions, driving the private sector growth.

Mr Darko-Mensah said with the skills acquired, it was about time the graduates prepared themselves to access the YouStart initiative introduced by the government and register companies to start providing solutions to challenges and create wealth.

Budget provisions

“It is, therefore, about time that young graduates change and consider their own start-ups after school, identify themselves, trust, show commitment and form partnerships, register them and launch into business,” he said.

He said fortunately, the YouStart Initiative, which was unveiled in the 2022 Budget Statement by the Finance Minister, would become operational from March this year.

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, said the time had come for the TTU and other technical universities to stand and be counted in the search for innovations to address the country’s numerous developmental challenges.

“All around the world, universities just like the TTU have become the incubation hub for development of technologies that solve everyday problems of society and nations,” he said.

Tech Expo

The minister challenged the TTU and other technical universities to introduce an annual Tech Expo to exhibit innovations by students and faculties to challenge students on ways to help shape society with technology.

“This is the only way the investments the government is making into technical education can be justified and be relevant to the country,” Dr Adutwum said.

Dr Adutwum said the government would continue to extend its unflinching support to the TTU to meet most of its infrastructure and logistical needs to fulfill its mandate.

Knowledge

The Vice -Chancellor of the TTU, Rev. Professor John Frank Eshun, commended the students for successfully going through their training session.

“The training you have received is expected to give you the needed practical application of knowledge/technical skills to prepare you for the economic and social challenges of this country,” he said.

Graduates

In all, 4,218 graduates made up of six Master of Technology, 1,131 Bachelor of Technology and 2,348 Higher National Diplomas and 420 non-tertiary diploma certificates students graduated.

In the area of engineering, 255 civil engineering graduates were awarded HND Competency Based Training (CBT) certificates from the National Board for Professional and Technician Examination (NABPTEX) and 58 awarded certificate, diploma and advanced diploma in Logistics and Transport.