The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei Owusu, has thrown his weight behind finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta who over the weekend urged graduates to venture into entrepreneurship because the government payroll is full.
According to him, Ghanaian graduates attend school just for certificates with no regard for employable skills, vocational and technical competence that could lead to entrepreneurship.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Ultimate 106.9 FM, he asserted that a lot of Ghanaians and the archaic mentality they have about white-collar jobs.
“We are miseducated because as soon as we go beyond secondary school, we think that we are not supposed to work with our hands. An engineer doesn’t want to touch dirty oil. He always wants to be wearing an overcoat and give instructions to people instead of us creating with our minds.”
The Bekwai Legislator who also doubles as a member of the Petroleum Commission Board expressed worry companies drilling oil in Ghana’s oil fields continue to submit applications requesting permission to import welders with a certain level of certification to work on the oil rigs.
“The CEO of the Petroleum Commission is worried that every year companies ask permission to bring in welders from outside the country because our people don’t have the qualifications. If they tell you how much they are paid per hour, it is more than my pay a month.”He fumed.
Mr Osei Owusu charged Ghanaian youth to do away with the mentality of success coming in wearing coats and tie and getting to work.
“All the jobs and things we see around are created by people who don’t walk around in coats and ties. Look around us; which one of us tie and coat people have created anything?” he asked rhetorically.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Joseph Asare
