The Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Nii Moi Thompson, has expressed concern over the low educational attainment of Ghana’s labour force, warning that it poses a significant challenge to the country’s economic progress and global competitiveness.
Speaking at the launch of the Productivity, Employment and Growth Report yesterday in Accra, Dr Thompson revealed that data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicated that 20 per cent of the labour force had no formal education, while 54 per cent had only basic education.
He noted that this trend left a large portion of the workforce unfit for the demands of the modern global economy.
“At the heart of the 24-hour economy initiative of the government is efficiency and productivity,” he stated, stressing that the informal nature of the Ghanaian economy had resulted in low productivity in the public sector.
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Dr Thompson further pointed to poor infrastructure, energy challenges, and inadequate workplace conditions and wages as additional factors impeding productivity.
He advocated for a shift in how productivity is measured, stating, that the country must focus on output per hour worked instead of output per worker.
Comparing Ghana’s productivity levels to global standards, he highlighted that while the output per hour worked in developed economies stood at $70, Ghana’s was only between $5 and $6.
The NDPC chairman assured that the commission was committed to using the GSS statistics to inform government policies, pledging to build the capacity of NDPC staff to conduct employment impact analyses as part of a 10-point research agenda.
Professor of Economics at the University of Ghana, William Baah Boateng, also spoke at the event, calling on the government to increase investment in technology in the labour sector to boost productivity.
“Technology drives productivity. The government must seriously invest in technology as it does in labour and capital,” he stated. He further noted that while Ghana was performing better than lower-middle-income countries in terms of productivity, it still lagged behind upper-middle-income nations.
Government Statistician, Professor Samuel K. Annim, emphasised the importance of new economic data in policy formulation. He stated that the GSS was now focusing on generating statistics beyond traditional economic indicators to assess efficiency in the use of capital and labour. “The country’s Gross Domestic Product will grow if productivity improves,” he added.
David Marcos, Project Manager of the ILO Productivity Ecosystem, reinforced the need for high productivity in achieving national development goals. He remarked that the 24-hour economy agenda could not succeed without productivity improvements and decent work conditions.
The Productivity, Employment and Growth Report, developed by the GSS with support from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work Ghana, and the Swiss and Norwegian governments, aims to promote productivity growth for decent work in Ghana.
With increasing concerns over the country’s economic trajectory, experts are calling for urgent investment in skilled labour, technology, and infrastructure to enhance productivity and strengthen Ghana’s global competitiveness.
According to the report, Ghana’s workforce faces an education gap, with 20 per cent of workers having no formal education and 54% attaining only JHS-level education.
This leaves a small portion of the population with the higher-level skills needed to drive economic growth.
Labour productivity in Ghana has grown at an average of 3.2 per cent annually from 1991 to 2019. However, experts say this rate is too slow to drive the economic transformation the country needs.
The mining sector recorded the highest productivity growth at 21.7 per cent, yet this has not led to more jobs. Meanwhile, household agriculture and informal urban services, which employ most workers, remain low-productivity sectors that do not contribute significantly to economic expansion.
Wages in Ghana are not keeping up with productivity growth, and the gap between earnings and productivity is widening, particularly in the informal sector, where most Ghanaians work.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this report incorrectly attributed Dr. Nii Moi Thompson's comments to Professor William Baah Boateng. We deeply regret any inconvenience caused.
