Polytechnic students urged to venture into entrepreneurship

Story : Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga Polytechnic graduates and trainees, who have completed specialized courses but cannot find suitable jobs have been urged to become entrepreneurs. The Municipal Chief Executive for Bolgatanga, Mr Edward Ayagiba Ayagle who said this at the 21st Annual Week Celebration of the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students(GNUPS) stressed that there were many businesses with economic potential which graduates could venture into instead of waiting for white collar jobs. “We must look beyond white collar jobs and venture into the entrepreneurship sector using the knowledge you gain in school,” Mr Ayagle said when he launched the GNUPS week celebration at the Bolgatanga Polytechnic campus. The theme for the celebration was equipping the youth with entrepreneurial resources, the means to solving Ghana's unemployment problems. Mr Ayagle said many polytechnic graduates and trainees had mastered the necessary working skills and knowledge to enable them to set up their own businesses adding that the days when many people rely on white collar jobs are long gone. He added that government on its parts will continue to create the right environment to support young entrepreneurs set up. The National President of GNUPS, Mr William Apam Awiniman called on the president of the republic to fulfill a pledge to upgrade all polytechnics into technical universities and thereby granting them autonomy. Expatiating on the choice of the theme, Mr Awiniman said having taken a close look at the social science programmes offered at the polytechnics it came to light that almost 70 per cent of them are business related courses with the other courses making up the remaining 30 per cent. "It is a fact that all the polytechnics do offer entrepreneurship as a course discipline to all is students be it commence, engineering or applied science programmes. This brings us to the question of how many of the graduates are able to use or apply the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge acquired from school? probably less than 5 per cent. " He said. "The question this brings us further is that, is it that the students study the course for examinations sake or are not willing to apply the skills acquired or just don't know how, where, when and what to start with or perhaps lack the resources, be it financial, mentorship or technical know-how to start deploying their entrepreneurial skills practically," he said According to him, management of polytechnics has to do more than teaching students the only skills and venture to the practicality of becoming entrepreneurs. The Rector of the Bolgatanaga Polytechnic, Dr Mba Atinga said the kind of training offered by polytechnics is geared at empowering the students and equip then to overcome the challenges of unemployment and therefore entreated the students to take their studies seriously. -End- Writer's email:benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh