Linking school and work in Ghana and Tanzania

The lack of preparedness of school leavers for the world of work is a long-standing and controversial issue. In countries such as Ghana and Tanzania, where the school system has expanded dramatically post-independence, many young people have faced difficulties finding jobs suited to their skills.

Employershave often complained about the mismatch between academic curricula and theskills required in the workplace. The problem is worse in developing countrieslike Ghana and Tanzania, where public sector jobs are nolonger widely available. School leavers often find that they are forced to takeup jobs in the informal sector, which their formal, academic education hashardly prepared them for.

Areport from SACOST in Ghana investigates the link between academic curriculaand the workplace in Ghana and Tanzania. The authors note that though therehave been attempts to reform the educational systems in both countries, these havenot addressed the gap between school and work, especially with formalemployment so scarce.

Theauthors conducted interviews with pupils, parents, teachers, teacher trainers,administrators and employers. Key findings include:

• Schools place much more emphasis on preparing students for the next stage of education than for employment, focusing on formalknowledge, examinations and ideologies of national development.
• Pre-technical andpre-vocational skills in Ghana and life skills in Tanzania have been introducedinto schools, but students have not found them interesting or relevant.
• Though about half the students in Ghana and two thirds in Tanzania work part-time,most feel it does not affect academic performance, and may even help in somesubjects.
• Careers guidance andcounselling is not offered systematically and is directed at the formal sectordespite limited job availability.
• In Ghana, thebiggest factor influencing students’ knowledge of careers is school, followedby their parents; in Tanzania, students find talking to people their own age ismore valuable than talking to their parents.
• Parents and employers wantpupils to have some experience of the world of work before leaving school inorder to acquire practical skills, positive attitudes and some knowledge ofworkplace principles.

To address the gap between school and theworkplace, the authors recommend:

• some form of regular workexperience, perhaps with assessment
• careers guidance and counselling with a focus on the informal sector,preferably from employers
• employers get involved in the design of curricula
• promotion of student-led activities such as working in groups
• improvement of pre-vocational and pre-technical courses to make themmore interesting to students
• teacher training to address the workplace needs of students.

The subjects that students find most helpful towardsgetting a job are also those they enjoy the most. Academic curricula should bedesigned and taught with as much relevance to student’s lives as possible –including their futures.