Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, Acting Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), has called for urgent and strategic investment in Ghana’s human capital to prepare the country’s workforce for the rapidly evolving global landscape and ensure long-term national prosperity.
She said strengthening human capital was essential for building a future-ready workforce capable of driving competitiveness, productivity and resilience over the next three decades.
Dr Amoah made the call at an Inter-Ministerial Coordination Meeting in Accra on Ghana’s National Human Capital Development Strategy (2026–2057), which brought together policymakers, directors and education experts from various ministries, departments and agencies.
Citing the World Bank’s Human Capital Index score of 0.45 for Ghana, she explained that a child born in the country today is expected to reach only 45 percent of their full productivity potential by age 18 under current health and education standards.
“This stark reality calls for deliberate and coordinated action,” she said, emphasising that the national strategy must improve learning outcomes, health, skills development and overall productivity.
Dr Amoah underscored the crucial role of stakeholders in shaping Ghana’s human capital trajectory, noting that strong collaboration was needed to secure a globally competitive workforce.
She stressed that socio-economic transformation, particularly in the era of artificial intelligence and rapid technological change, depended on equipping citizens with relevant skills and competencies.
She outlined Ghana’s ambition to reach high-income status by 2057 with a minimum nominal GDP of US$3.4 trillion and a per capita GDP of at least US$50,000.
However, she said gaps in education, health and labour-market alignment continued to hinder the nation’s ability to fully harness its natural resources, including gold, diamond and crude oil for sustained growth.
Dr Amoah cautioned that demographic pressures, labour-market mismatches, migration of skilled professionals and fragmentation across sectors made coordinated ministerial support “absolutely necessary.”
She said the Human Capital Development Strategy aligned closely with the President’s “Resetting Ghana Agenda,” which prioritises strengthening institutions, rebuilding economic foundations, restoring productivity and placing people at the centre of national development.
“Resetting Ghana requires more than stabilising the present; it requires preparing our people for the future,” she noted.
Dr Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, Co-Principal Investigator and Country Research Manager of Thrive Ghana, a technical partner supporting the strategy’s development, described human capital as the most valuable resource of any country.
He urged sustained investment in skill-building across all levels to drive innovation, support economic recovery and enhance national competitiveness.
