‘One worker does the job of 62' – the hard truth lesson for Ghana on human capital reform

Daily Maverick

18 hours ago

The worker-to-output gap can be narrowed. But only if we first build systems that close the skills-to-opportunity gap. Let's train for the jobs we want, make the skills that pay and move from potential to performance.
Not long ago, I met an executive of a steel company based in Ghana. He'd just returned from a visit to a couple of factories in China. 'In one of these places, one worker,' he told me, shaking his head, 'does the work of 62 of my workers in a day.' The shock wasn't just in the numbers; it was also in the revelation that his Ghanaian plant had more modern equipment than he encountered on the tour. To add insult to injury, the situation, although less jarring in another factory, was similar; this time, the comparison was with about 40 workers.
The difference wasn't tools or technology. It was about systems, skills and the structures that shape how people work.
This is the crisis at the heart of Ghana's development challenge. We talk about jobs. We talk about youth. But we avoid the hard truth: we are underperforming not because we lack potential, but because we consistently underinvest in our people and the systems that enable their productivity. When skills, discipline and incentives are misaligned with economic needs, even the best technology gathers dust. Productivity is not just about effort; it's about structure, strategy and support.
If Ghana is serious about transforming into a productive, resilient and job-creating nation, as President John Mahama laid out in his 2025 State of the Nation Address, then we must bet big on our people. Not in theory, in practice. We cannot build a 21st-century economy on a 20th-century workforce preparation. Human capital reform must become a national economic strategy, not a donor-driven project or policy footnote.
Thankfully, there is no shortage of models to learn from. Over the past 60 years, countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and, more recently, Rwanda and Mauritius have made deliberate choices to transform their populations into engines of economic productivity. Across the world, there is much to learn.
Build education for jobs, not just exams
When Japan rebuilt after World War 2, it didn't just focus on GDP; it focused on skills. It established Kosen schools, which were technical colleges that trained engineers, electricians, machinists and factory managers. Graduates didn't struggle to find work. They were already embedded in industry by the time they were done. South Korea, too, scaled technical training in tandem with industrial policy. When factories opened, skills followed. As new sectors emerged, curriculums changed.
Singapore established its Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in collaboration with employers. It created SkillsFuture, a national programme that paid people to learn what the economy actually needed. The country's ascent from a resource-poor island to a global hub was driven mainly by Lee Kuan Yew's commitment to meritocratic education and strategic talent recruitment.
Simultaneously, foreign professionals filled gaps in hi-tech industries. Programmes targeted both highly skilled immigrants and workers with portable skills. Singapore's quotas for foreign talent accelerated sectoral growth – a model Ghana could replicate in areas such as healthcare and engineering.
Ghana has no shortage of educated people. However, there's a significant mismatch between what we teach and what employers actually need. Many school-leavers cannot find work, not because there are no jobs but because they aren't job-ready. It is estimated that more than one in six tertiary graduates and one in four secondary graduates in Ghana are out of work. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) remains a second-class option – underfunded, underrespected and unaligned with growth sectors such as agritech, construction, renewable energy and logistics.
Ghana's recent educational reforms underscore the critical need for the development of technical skills. Initiatives like the National Education Consultative Forum have set the stage for aligning education with the modern demands of the workforce. Partnerships like Huawei's ICT Academies are instrumental in providing students with practical skills and certifications that enhance their employability and career prospects. By fostering such collaborations, Ghana can emulate successes elsewhere, where industry-education partnerships have significantly reduced youth unemployment. Involving employers in curriculum design is not a luxury; it's the fix.
Make business co-investors in skilling
In high-performing economies, businesses don't just hire skilled workers; they help create them. In Singapore, companies receive subsidies to upskill their workforce through the SkillsFuture programme. In South Korea, large conglomerates – chaebols – train workers as part of a long-term industrial strategy. In Japan, business federations work with government to forecast labour needs and co-design vocational tracks.
Ghana, by contrast, lacks a national compact. Most firms, especially SMEs, which make up a significant portion of work, have little incentive to do so, and large firms often prefer to import skilled labour with no structure in place to train or transfer skills to locals. Meanwhile, more than 70% of Ghana's workforce is in the informal sector, where access to quality training is nearly nonexistent.
Ghana needs a 'Train and Hire' Compact: a nationwide initiative that rewards firms for investing in local talent through tax incentives, wage subsidies and visibility. Digital job-matching platforms and modular, mobile-based training for informal workers can help bridge the gap between education and the workforce.
We must also stop ignoring the informal economy. Hairdressers, welders, tailors and informal tech workers power much of Ghana's growth. Partnering with trade associations and mobile operators to deliver modular, mobile-based training, paired with flexible certification, can professionalise and scale this workforce, increasing their output and productivity. Rwanda and Kenya are already piloting such initiatives with measurable success.
The private sector won't lead alone. But if the state de-risks investments and shares costs, firms will step up. It's not CSR. It's smart economics.
Use diplomacy to build human capital
Ghana has embassies in Japan, Korea and Singapore. These missions must broker skills partnerships, not just trade talks. They should pursue technical placements in Japan's Kosen network, linkages with Korea's ETRI and Singapore's A*STAR, and access to SkillsFuture programmes.
If we are sending envoys abroad, they must return with tools, not just talking points. The goal is to leverage and capitalise on international relationships.
Beyond our borders also lies an untapped reservoir of talent: the Ghanaian diaspora. With about 1 million citizens abroad, half of whom reside in OECD countries, this community boasts a high concentration of tertiary-educated professionals, particularly in the health and technical sectors. In 2023, remittances reached US$4.6-billion, accounting for about 6% of Ghana's GDP.
Their impact can go beyond money. Engaging this skilled diaspora through targeted initiatives could accelerate our human capital development and bridge critical gaps in our workforce. Professors abroad can deliver virtual or in-person training. Health professionals from Cuba to Switzerland can share practices. Tech professionals in Silicon Valley and Dublin can serve as formal mentors to start-ups. Launching a 'Digital Ambassadors' initiative, with tax incentives for diaspora-led masterclasses or mentoring, could yield major gains.
Turning knowledge into national power
Japan didn't become a tech leader by accident. It built the Japan Science and Technology Agency. Korea has ETRI. Singapore consistently invests 1%-2% of its GDP in research and innovation.
Ghana? Less than 0.4%, most of it tied up in bureaucracy.
If we want innovation, we need to fund it. We must fund applied research in agriculture, health and energy. Universities need partnerships with businesses. Innovation hubs should solve real problems – like farm productivity, water access, and small business logistics – not just launch apps.
We must also expand rural broadband, train teachers in digital literacy and collaborate with global EdTech firms, among other initiatives. Talent exists. Access must catch up.
Stanford's Eric Hanushek found that education quality, not quantity, explains most long-term growth. It is not how many years kids spend in school but what they learn. Heeding this would help us make smarter policy choices, not populist ones.
Don't leave people behind
It must also be said that most human capital strategies fail because they assume a level playing field. Access to education, internet and training in Ghana is deeply unequal by region, gender, income and (dis)ability. Girls in rural areas are more likely to drop out early. Persons with disability face systemic exclusion. Children of farmers are often several years behind their urban peers by the time they hit secondary school.
The challenge isn't ignorance; it's inertia, a lack of systemic coordination and a culture of tokenism in decision-making spaces where those most affected are rarely ever at the table. And too many people stay quiet in policy rooms, worried about ruffling feathers or offending political loyalties.
Education equity isn't charity. It's strategy. And it pays dividends.
The bottom line
Productivity isn't a miracle. It's the result of policy choices. Others have made them, and we have a plethora of outcomes to inform our own. The lesson is not that Ghana has to replicate mindlessly what some country did; it is that we cannot afford to ignore those who have had success, why they achieved it and what we can learn from that experience. That's the benefit of having others 'go ahead.'
The steel executive's words still echo: 'One worker there does the work of 62 of my workers in a day.' That gap isn't solely about effort. It's about systems, skill-building efforts and priorities that overlook the engine of real growth — the people.
Eric Hanushek's research confirms that what people learn, more than how long they learn, determines national growth. Ghana cannot afford to invest in education that doesn't translate into employable skills. It cannot fill classrooms at the expense of quality. It cannot fund training programmes without demanding results. And it cannot promise jobs while leaving human potential untapped.
If we continue to sideline human capital, President Mahama's vision will remain just that — a vision.
But it doesn't have to. The worker-to-output gap can be narrowed. But only if we first build systems that close the skills-to-opportunity gap. Let's train for the jobs we want, make the skills that pay and move from potential to performance.
That means realising that the smartest investment we can make is not solely in concrete but in capacity, too. If we don't start now, we will continue to watch the world move on, while Ghana continues to ask why one foreign worker can do what 61 of ours cannot. We need to make different choices.