Technical Institute Graduates in Ghana's Auto Sector: An Assessment of Career and Technology Education Employment Impact at Abossey Okai Market

Abstract

Background: Ghana’s automotive industry faces a persistent shortage of workers with advanced technical skills. The rapid pace of technological change has left many graduates ill-equipped for employment, a challenge particularly acute in the Greater Accra Region’s Abossey Okai Market, the largest automotive dealership hub in terms of the volume of auto related items in Ghana and command a significant position in West Africa. Notwithstanding a growing body of literature on Career and Technology Education (CTE) in Ghana and in sub-Saharan Africa, no study has systematically examined CTE employment outcomes within a single, high-density informal–formal labour cluster of this scale. This study addresses that gap by assessing how CTE programs prepare technical institute graduates for the automotive sector. Methodology: A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed. A structured questionnaire was administered to 485 graduates from 12 institutions who completed automotive programs between 2017 and 2023. In-depth interviews were conducted with 45 employees and 18 educational stakeholders in the Greater Accra Region. Results: Overall, 78.4% of CTE graduates secured employment in the automotive sector within six months of graduation; 62.1% of those found positions specifically within the Abossey Okai Market. Graduates with specialised training in modern automotive diagnostics achieved employment rates 23 percentage points higher than those with only traditional mechanical training. The study also documented pronounced gender disparities: female graduates comprised just 14.2% of the sample and faced longer job-search periods despite holding equivalent technical qualifications. Conclusion: CTE creates measurable positive employment outcomes, yet important gaps remain in technological competencies, non-technical skills, and gender equity. There is a strong indication that a well-researched and designed collaborative curriculum modernization, stronger industry–institution partnerships, and targeted gender inclusion strategies are urgently needed. Abossey Okai’s distinctive structure as a hybrid informal–formal labour cluster makes it a generalizable model for analyzing CTE effectiveness in comparable urban automotive markets across Africa.