Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Minister of Education, has asked stakeholders to invest in entrepreneurship education to transform the country’s economy.
She said investment of adequate resources in training entrepreneurs, using world class journals and publications, empowers them to create their own businesses and for others.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, who made the call at the inauguration of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education, Research and Training, at the Methodist University College (MUG) last Friday, said the increasing demand for job required a paradigm shift and creative methods of doing things.
The programme is a partnership of MUG and the Handong Global University of Korea, under the auspices of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) University Twining and Networking.
It is the first centre established to train critical thinkers and innovative entrepreneurs in Ghana and West Africa.
The Minister said the current economic trend was becoming more challenging and asked workers to think outside the box by developing new ideas.
“As a country, we need people, who are trained to be thinkers and learners, who look ahead. Entrepreneurship education and training should, therefore, guarantee creative thinking , problem solving and leadership that will prepare young people, particularly for the work environment,” she said.
Prof. Opoku-Agyeman said business experience remained a challenge to many tertiary institutions, adding that “we need a mix of individuals with interdisciplinary backgrounds to construct the play field that allows business to flourish”.
Government, she said has rolled out interventions and policies that promote entrepreneurship and would complete the efforts of institutions to bring the needed the change.
The Reverend Professor Samuel K. Adyjapong, the Principal of the University, expressed optimism that the Centre would live up to the purpose for which it was put up.
He said the centre features a unique of market avenues to aspiring entrepreneurs who are keen to sell goods and services, a component he explained is often neglected though it forms a major part of the value chain.
Mr. Gihong George Kim, Director, Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Handong Global University, said the Centre was set up to provide cutting edge and practical training to prepare graduates for complex challenges in a competitive business environment.