Accra, September 18, 2025 – The leadership of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has underscored that Ghana’s vision of socio-economic transformation hinges on bold and strategic investments in human capital.
Speaking at the 5th Annual National Precision Quality Conference held in Accra, hosted by the Design and Technology Institute (DTI) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and NDPC, both the Director-General of NDPC, Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, and the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, emphasized that human capital development must be central to Ghana’s growth agenda. The conference was held under the theme “Investing in Human Capital as a Powerful Driver of Economic Growth.”
Dr. Amoah highlighted that despite Ghana’s wealth of natural resources—gold, diamonds, oil, and lithium—structural weaknesses persist because the country continues to export minerals in raw form and battles high post-harvest losses in agriculture. These, she explained, are direct consequences of skills gaps, weak institutional capacity, and limited investment in human capital. Drawing on the OECD’s definition of human capital, she reminded participants that citizens are not only beneficiaries but also principal drivers of development, warning that Ghana’s vision for transformation will remain elusive without deliberate investments in people.
On his part, Dr. Thompson situated the conversation in Ghana’s long history of development planning, recalling that earlier frameworks, including the 40-Year Development Plan, had earmarked significant proposals for human capital development between 2018 and 2021, yet little was achieved. He warned that without addressing gaps in literacy, numeracy, and 21st-century skills, many young Ghanaians risk pricing themselves out of the job market.
He also drew lessons from Ghana’s past, citing the 1952 Accelerated Education Programme, the 1961 Education Act, and Ghana’s leadership in the 1963 Addis Ababa Conference on Education in Africa, which made human capital a key growth driver in the 1960s. However, he lamented that the economic downturn of the 1970s reversed those gains, leading to the loss of up to 10,000 teachers who migrated in search of better opportunities. To avoid repeating such setbacks, Dr. Thompson stressed the need for stronger technical training, improved nutrition, risk assessment, and the integration of values into Ghana’s human capital strategy.
The conference also marked the first stage of broad stakeholder consultations for Ghana’s Human Capital Development Strategy. Preliminary findings from the baseline study revealed a persistent mismatch between the skills acquired in schools and the demands of today’s economy, shaped by technology, automation, and global competition.
Participants agreed that the Human Capital Development Strategy should not be another policy document gathering dust, but a practical roadmap that positions Ghana competitively in the global economy.