The O.R Tambo Africa Research Chairs Initiative at KNUST School of Business (ORTARChI-KNUST) held its Maiden Affinity Meeting with key Industry Players on Thursday, 20th October 2022 at the Fiesta Royale Hotel Conference Room, Accra.
Stating the purpose of the meeting, the Chair and Dean of KSB, Professor Nathaniel Boso said that the main objective of the discussion was to allow industry players to fraternize and share their thoughts on how technology entrepreneurship can help improve graduate employability in Ghana and Africa. He added that the focus was to drive a new conversation on how to enable/ train students to appreciate technology entrepreneurship.
Professor Boso was hopeful that the panelist would stimulate conservations, and recommend strategies and opportunities in technology entrepreneurship that would help improve graduate employability in Ghana and Africa.
The meeting was attended by the following industry partners;
- Mr. Coby Asmah- CEO, Type Company Limited
- Dr. Edith Dankwa- CEO, Energy Ghana Limited
- Apostle Robert K.B. Adjei- CEO, Jubilee Industrial Complex
- Mr. Alex Kwame Boadi- InGenius Africa, council member, GNCCI, Treasurer, Greater Accra Chamber.
- Mr. Romaric Dankwa Ababio- CEO, Seedway Group
- Ing. Jabesh Amissah-Arthur – CO-FOUNDER, Arthur Energy Advisors
- Mr. Richmond Obeng- CEO, Ebits Company Limited
Why entrepreneurship being taught in schools yet, high
unemployment rate in the country
Although entrepreneurship is being taught in the university, a major problem that affects humans is their attitude. Suggestions such as the need to teach how to change one’s attitude/perception towards entrepreneurship to reduce the unemployment rate were made
Entrepreneurship is presumed to be taught in school, however, it’s different from what is being practiced on the field. People need to know what entrepreneurship entails by having practical hands-on experience in the industry.
The reason why there is a rise in unemployment is that mentorship/apprenticeship tends to die. The university(ies) could find a way to bring back mentorship and apprenticeship. The course selection in the first degree should be properly structured to help churn out self-made entrepreneurs.
Changing the mindset of students considerings entrepreneurship as an afterthought
According to research, students consider entrepreneurship as an afterthought, how do we deal with such a mindset? There should be the need for institutional support to shape the disposition of students to put the right value into entrepreneurship – the learning style is also important to imbibe in students’ early skills. Mr. Coby Asmah proposed to the management of KSB to structure education to become a business example for students. The KSB should have an online presence for international students. There was a call for a push in the partnership between industry and academia.
How can academia collaborate with the industry to contribute to
graduate employability
There should be a synergy where the industry works with academia to discuss the structure of the curriculum with the industry. The need for industrial attachment/apprenticeship to allow students to acquire the needed experience for the corporate world should be encouraged as well. There’s a way to allow the industry to accommodate the number of students being churned out yearly. Universities should change the norms of students seeking for internship space themselves.
