Dr Patrick Awuah, Founder of Ashesi University, has advised government to include soft skills into the curriculum of schools. According to him, this will help prepare students for the world of work.

Dr. Awuah commended government for carrying out some educational reforms. He however revealed that these reforms should be enhanced to embrace new trends and soft skills.

According to the Ashesi founder, the implications of incorporating soft skills are far reaching. He explained that global changes in the use of technology have informed the nature of today’s work.

Commenting on the country’s curriculum, Dr. Awuah noted that it must have Ethics and civic engagement, critical thinking and communication. He further included leadership and technological competence which he indicated will prepare young people for the job market.

“It is really important to remember that these soft skills are needed to impact students and prepare them for the world of work”.

Educational system in Ghana

Similarly, Dr Awuah detected that more work needs to be done in the country’s educational system despite progress being made.

“We have an educational system that is heavily dependent on memorisation of information which continues to be a feature at all levels. But it is changing slowly and could be a little faster.

“There is change happening at the higher level of our education system. Universities are now talking to students about critical thinking and leadership which is a sign of good progress”.

Bridging the skills gap

On her part, Marketing and Corporate Relations Director at Absa Bank Ghana, Essilfuah Tamakloe expressed the need to bridge the skills gap between academia and work.

According to her, employers are increasingly on the lookout for young people who are agile, flexible, creative and collaborative.

“When you consider the requirements needed for today’s world of work; there has been rapid changes occurring in the business environment and the increasing importance of application of soft skills”.

She further revealed that there are new and emerging business-led skills such as complex problem solving, cognitive flexibility among others.

“These soft skills are very critical for organisational growth as well as individual career growth”.

She further extolled the qualities of Absa Bank in helping in the education and skills Development for the youth. Moreover, she noted that the bank has offered several opportunities to the youth, especially young graduates.

As a case in point, she disclosed that the bank has provided mentoring and given internship opportunities to almost 500 students over the past four years.

Also, she indicated that Absa has included internship offers in other programmes such as, job shadowing, graduate Management Trainee Programme among others. She explained that this will expose the youth to some of these critical soft skills they require.

According to Tamakloe, the Absa Bank Ready to Work programme is to equip young people with foundational soft skills and prepare them for the world of work.

The Ready to Work programme is Absa Bank’s flagship e-learning curriculum that helps to prepare young people for the transition from school to the world of work. It equips young people with the requisite skills they need to enhance their employment or self-employment prospects.