National service personnel in the Ashanti Region, where more than one in four young people are unemployed, have been urged to build character and skills before their service ends.
The call came at a summit for service personnel organised by the National Service Authority with AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi Mine, under the theme “What Next After Service?” Sessions covered employment, starting a business, further study and professional development.
The region’s jobs picture shows why the question matters. The Ghana Statistical Service reported in July that unemployment among people aged 15 to 35 in the Ashanti Region averaged 27.2 per cent over the first three quarters of 2025, among the highest in the country, against a national youth rate of 21.9 per cent.
Daniel Arthur Bentum, Superintendent for Economic Development at the Obuasi Mine, told participants to develop “character, competence and hard work” to take advantage of job and business opportunities. He said the partnership formed part of the youth employment work under the mine’s 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan, which aims to improve skills and access to jobs for young people in communities around the mine.
Ashanti Regional Minister Dr Frank Amoakohene described national service as preparation that exposes graduates to the realities of the workplace. He urged them to be disciplined, keep learning, deliver results without supervision and stay open to opportunities outside their fields of study. Volunteering, he said, could help young people gain experience and build professional networks. Relationships built on trust and competence could open doors to career advancement.
Emmanuel Reagan Fynn, the Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Secretariat, said the summit was meant to reduce unemployment among graduates after their service year. He urged participants to use what they had learned when making career decisions, so they could find jobs or start businesses and support their families.
