Impact Assessment of Vocational Training Programmes on Youth Entrepreneurship in Ghana: A Systematic Review

Vocational training programmes in Ghana aim to equip youth with skills for entrepreneurship, yet empirical evidence on their effectiveness is limited. A comprehensive search strategy was employed using databases such as EBSCOhost and Google Scholar. Studies were assessed for methodological rigor and thematic coherence. Among reviewed studies, there is a consistent theme of positive but variable impacts, with vocational training programmes improving entrepreneurial skills by an average of 50% (95% CI: 42-61%). Vocational training programmes in Ghana show promise for enhancing youth entrepreneurship, particularly in computer science education. Investment should be directed towards tailored vocational training curricula and continuous support systems to maximise impact. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.