Youth Employment Paths in a Ghanaian Rural Community
Peter Dwumah
, Kofi Osei Akuoko, Eric Henry Yeboah, Nelson Gyasi- Boadu & Mary Sefa Boampong
Issue: Vol.4 No.3 March 2023 Article 3 pp.196-211
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2023433| Published online 8th March, 2023
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Rural youth engage in different employment activities. Due to the scarcity of literature on the employment activities and aspirations of youth in rural communities especially in Africa, the study examined the past, present and future employment of the out-of-school youth in Amankyea, a rural community in the Atwima Nwabiagya district of Ashanti Region in Ghana. Three (3) focus group discussions and interviews with 20 rural youth who were purposively selected were conducted. Questionnaires were also administered to 270 randomly selected young people in the rural community. The data analysis revealed that the rural youth engage in farming, formal employment, employment in informal enterprises, informal self-employment and family employment. Although the majority of young people were farming, most of them indicated their interest in informal self-employment as their future employment aspiration. The study recommends that farming should be made more attractive for the rural youth to choose as an employment aspiration. Rural youth should also be given skills training to enable them pursue self-employment.
Keywords: rural youth, employment, aspirations, Ghana
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Dr. Zwelivumile Malindi, is a novice researcher in the field of educational sciences. He graduated his DEd at Walter Sisulu University (WSU), Master and Bed at the former University of Transkei (UNITRA) currently known as WSU. Is currently working as a Deputy Chief Education Specialist (DCES) in the O R Tambo Inland (ORTID) Education District of the Eastern Cape South Africa. A former part-time lecturer at UNITRA and a school principal in the former Libode Education District.
Dr Berington Zanoxolo Gobingca is currently a Dean: Faculty of Educational Sciences at Walter Sisulu University. He has more than 10 years in higher education institutions’ teaching experience. He has successfully supervised almost five doctoral, nine Masters and 10 Hons students. He has participated in recurriculation and reviewing of undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education programmes. He is also participating as an External Examiner for Masters in various higher education institutions. He is a member of various University management, leadership and governance committees. He has won VC’s Excellent Award for Teaching and Learning. He is actively involved in community engagement and partnership.
Prof. Clever Ndebele is currently the Senior Director: Learning and Teaching at Walter Sisulu University. He has extensive experience in higher education studies with more than 10 years’ experience at senior management level in the area of teaching and learning at several universities in South Africa. Has participated in several (NRF) research projects on academic staff development in collaboration with other universities and has also been involved in Teaching Development Grant National collaborative projects (namely PGDHE for educational development practitioners and PGDHE for academics). He is also a member of the CHE National Standards and Reviews Committee and the CHE Peer Advisory Group on Reconceptualising Teaching and Learning (RELATE). Prof Ndebele currently oversees academic staff development and student academic support and coordinates the University Capacity Development Programme, the New Generation of Academics Programme, National Siyaphumelela Student Success project and Future Professors Programme at Walter Sisulu University.
Dwumah,P., Akuoko,K.O., Yeboah,E.H., Gyasi- Boadu, N. & Boampong, M.S. “Youth Employment Paths in a Ghanaian Rural Community,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 4, no.3 (2023):196-211. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2023433
© 2023 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
