The Member of Parliament (MP) for Korle Klottey, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has reiterated the need for tertiary institutions to embark on courses that have direct relevance to the needs of the job market in the country and beyond.
That, she said, made it easier for the youth to thrive by making them more competitive both at home and abroad while creating a workforce with the capabilities to meaningfully contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
Dr Agyeman-Rawlings made these remarks at the 8th congregation and 12th matriculation ceremony of the Radford University College (RUC) held in Accra last Saturday.
She represented the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin.
During the event, which was on the theme: “Bridging the gap between academia and industry”, 234 students received certificates for successfully completing their studies in various fields.
These included Business Administration, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Information Communication Technology, Medical Laboratory Technology and Physician Assistantship.
New students were also officially admitted to pursue studies in various disciplines.
“It is very refreshing to hear that all the students graduating from the Graphic Design Faculty already have placements with jobs.
“I think what that does is that it eases the stress on parents and guardians and it also encourages the children that they are finishing school not to end up unemployed. It’s easier for the students to find jobs, to create jobs and create opportunities for themselves in an enabling environment which, of course, the government must be able to support with,” Dr Agyeman-Rawlings added.
The President of RUC, Dr Martin Luther Obeng, stressed that his institution was always committed to bridging the gap between academia and industry by creating programmes that were tailor-made for the needs of society.
He also indicated that the university was putting in place measures such as enhancing physical infrastructure and creating new programmes to accommodate more students and young people interested in receiving practical training to better their lives.
“We are going to be the first to do more in football. We want to help run football in Ghana. It looks like everybody is doing it anyway, but we want to look at how professionally we can provide solutions.
“We are in direct contact with the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG), the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the National Sports Authority (NSA) and all. We want to bring out ideas to manage and help develop sports in Ghana,” Dr Obeng stressed.
One of the Best Graduating Students, Winsley Steve Wa Lemagni Fami, urged the administration to enhance partnerships with industry leaders, expand funding for practical resources, and establish more structured internship programmes to ensure future generations of students could have the tools and experiences they needed to excel.