Canada Announces New Investment in Education for Young Women in Ghana

Ghana has been making great strides in reducing poverty across the country for years. But lately, rising inflation and slower economic growth have started to reverse this hard won progress. In 2024, nearly half of the population in Ghana was below the poverty line, with 1 in 4 Ghanaians estimated to be living in extreme poverty. Young women have been particularly hard hit by the economic challenges facing the country.

Ghana has been a regional trailblazer in getting more women in the workforce. Technical and vocational education and training is promoting economic growth and social inclusion. Young people are getting the practical skills they need to find decent work and improve their livelihoods. However, traditional gender roles and negative stereotypes continue to restrict opportunities and limit aspirations. This is particularly true in non-traditional sectors, such as construction and extractives. 

Canada has a lot to offer in this regard; Canadian women are amongst the most active in the labour market globally. For years, WUSC has been working with the Government of Canada alongside hundreds of partners worldwide to support emerging economies in fostering more opportunities for young women, drawing on the expertise of Canadian training institutions, employers, and skilled Canadian workers to do so. 

When more women enter the workforce, economies thrive. This work ultimately contributes to more robust and stable global markets, and greater gender equality globally, bringing lasting benefits to Canadians.  

Today, the Honourable Randeep Sarai, Canada’s Secretary of State for International Development announced a new $12.4M investment to support WUSC’s work in this area over the next five years. The EMPLOY project will enhance economic empowerment, well-being, and inclusive economic growth for young women in Ghana. 

Working with training providers and employers across the country, we will scale up our established approach to increasing the economic participation of women in high-growth sectors. This includes:

• Supporting young women to access training programs, employment opportunities, and entrepreneurship supports in high-growth sectors;
• Supporting training providers to improve the quality and relevance of training programs; create training environments that are more welcoming of young women; and strengthen student transitions into the workforce upon graduation;
• Supporting employers to attract, employ, and retain young women as employees; and
• Improving public and industry attitudes towards women’s participation in non-traditional trades

We know this approach works from similar initiatives that we’ve led in Sri Lanka, Jordan, and Iraq. Over the past five years, we have been adapting this model to the Ghanaian context through our INVEST project. 

A five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada, INVEST supported 5,000 young women in the construction, energy, automotive, manufacturing and extractive sectors to access quality training, internships, and  employment opportunities. By improving training opportunities and tackling public’s perceptions of women in technical and vocational education and training, we worked with partners to increase the number of women pursuing careers in these sectors.

We know this approach works. Just ask Keziah. Keziah completed her training at Anointed Technical Institute, a training partner on the INVEST project in Accra. Within just three months of her internship at Sun Power Innovations Limited, she demonstrated a strong willingness to learn, quickly adapted to her role, and proved capable of working independently with minimal supervision. Her supervisor was so impressed with her contributions and work ethic that she was offered a permanent position. Today, Keziah works as an electrical technician with Sun Power Innovations Limited, proving that women can excel in any trade they choose. 

Through EMPLOY, we will be expanding this impactful work to new regions and new emerging sectors, reaching more young women like Keziah throughout Ghana. We will also be shifting more of our focus toward improving the linkages between training institutions and employers to support sustainable employment for new graduates. 

From 2025 – 2030, we expect that more than 20,000 young women will benefit from improved training and employment opportunities created with support from the project. This work will likewise benefit the more than 25,000 young men who are also enrolled at these schools. And because our interventions are designed to support long-term change, we anticipate the contributions of this project will have a positive impact in the lives of many more students for years to come. 

This ultimately means more youth—and young women in particular—having the skills they need to find employment and feeling more empowered in their careers and their lives. And because money talks, we know from experience that this can lead to more young people and women having a greater say in household and community decisions. 

Canadians with experience in communications, gender equality, and sustainability will be invited to directly contribute to this work as skilled volunteers. They will be placed with our Ghanaian partners to exchange ideas and collaborate on lasting solutions that help unlock the full potential of young women in Ghana. Don’t miss out on these exciting opportunities. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.