Band 7+: In some countries there are more young people choosing to enrol in work-based training instead of attending university. Do the advantages of this situation outweigh the disadvantages? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

In this modern era, choosing to pursue higher education is usually the norm for upgrading your life; on the contrary, securing a job and building your capacity have numerous benefits that can never be underestimated. Some of the youth are of the view that tertiary education improves one’s value, while others also believe that getting a job and expanding your knowledge capacity in your role can lead to a better life. In my opinion, due to the scarcity of employment opportunities after completing tertiary education in Ghana, I believe that possessing a secure job in the early years of life and learning on the job is very ideal to prevent being unemployed after school.

Working in the early years of life and engaging in in-service training is very imperative for both the individual and society. Firstly, being employed and having education in your role is very important because the individual may have a sense of job security. Moreover, the youth will have financial freedom in their early stages of life and acquire adequate experience working for a reasonable number of years. Additionally, the individual will be free from the stress of searching for an employment opportunity after school. For example, in Ghana, only 10% of university graduates are employed annually.

Among the drawbacks, it has been evident in the last decade that most developing economies are not industrialized; Ghana is no exception; therefore, there are few companies in the country engaged in manufacturing. Based on this, employment opportunities are relatively scarce. Besides, most graduates are dormant after acquiring knowledge in our tertiary institutions.

Conclusively, I will suggest that, though higher education is very necessary, in our part of the world, many undergraduate degree holders have not lived up to expectations due to the current economic crisis of the nation, resulting in high rates of unemployment after graduation; therefore, finding an active occupation and learning extensively to gain superior knowledge in that field of work is the best way to attain financial freedom.