The Minister for Labour, Employment and Job Creation and Member of Parliament for Nkoranza South in the Bono East Region, Hon. Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, has urged graduating students of Valley View University (VVU) to build their professional lives on excellence, integrity, competence and service.
Addressing the university’s 34th graduation ceremony, Mr Agyekum challenged the graduates to view their work as a personal signature that would shape how employers, colleagues, customers and society perceive them.
Speaking on the theme, “Your Work Is Your Signature; What Will Yours Say?”, he said graduation marked not only the completion of an academic journey but also the beginning of a new phase in which graduates would be judged by the quality and impact of their work.
“Your certificate tells us what you studied. Your signature will tell us how you work,” he said.
He explained that, just as a signature indicates that a person stands behind what they have signed, an individual’s work would eventually become a reflection of their character, values and professional standards.
Mr Agyekum urged the graduates to make excellence an essential part of their professional identity, stressing that excellence did not mean perfection but taking their responsibilities seriously.
He encouraged them to prepare adequately for tasks, meet deadlines, arrive on time, check their work carefully and refuse to accept poor standards.
Mr Agyekum cautioned the graduates against looking down on their first jobs or opportunities simply because they might not meet their expectations.
He noted that a first job might not necessarily be a dream job, while a first salary might also fall below expectations. However, such opportunities could provide important platforms for demonstrating character and competence.
“Whatever task you are given, do it well. If you lead a team, lead it well. If you start a business, run it professionally,” he said.
He urged the graduates to build reputations that would make people associate their names with quality and reliability.
According to him, graduates should strive to create a situation where people could confidently say, “If that name is on it, I can trust the quality.”
The Minister also warned that excellence without integrity was incomplete, describing trust as an important form of capital in the world of work.
He said graduates could face situations where they might be asked to conceal mistakes, manipulate figures, misuse resources or take credit for the work of others.
In such situations, he urged them to remember that their decisions would contribute to the professional reputation they were building.
“Do not exchange your good name for quick success. In the world of work, trust is capital,” he cautioned.
Mr Agyekum stressed that professional skills might open doors, but integrity would determine whether individuals could sustain the confidence placed in them.
The Minister acknowledged that the graduates are entering a labour market with both opportunities and significant challenges.
He cited Ghana’s youthful population, noting that the Ghana Statistical Service reported in July 2026 that people aged between 15 and 35 constituted 36.9 per cent of the country’s total population.
He further referenced labour force figures showing that unemployment stood at 13 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, while youth unemployment among people aged 15 to 35 stood at 21.9 per cent.
He said nearly two million young people within that age group were neither employed, in education nor undergoing training.
Against this backdrop, Mr Agyekum said Ghana need more than graduates holding academic certificates.
“Ghana does not only need more certificates. Ghana needs value creators, problem solvers, people who improve productivity, people who build solid businesses and create decent work for others,” he said.
The Minister challenged the graduates to look beyond seeking employment and consider becoming employers themselves.
He said while some graduates would sign employment contracts, others should aspire to reach a point where they could sign employment letters for other Ghanaians.
“That is job creation,” he stressed.
Mr Agyekum encouraged graduates interested in entrepreneurship to identify challenges within their communities and develop practical solutions that could be transformed into viable businesses.
He urged them to ask themselves what frustrates people, what services are lacking and what could be done faster, safer, cheaper or better.
He also encouraged them to identify personal skills that could be developed into services and consider how problems in their communities could become business opportunities.
However, he urged aspiring entrepreneurs to build their businesses responsibly by listening to customers, keeping proper records, establishing trust and investing in their workers.
Mr Agyekum reminded graduates who would eventually become employers that their professional signature would also be reflected in how they treated their workers.
He said a good job should offer more than a salary and should provide dignity, fair remuneration, workplace safety and respect for workers’ rights.
Employers, he added, must create working environments where employees could develop their skills and progress professionally.
“One day, someone may remember your signature not because of the money you made, but because you gave them their first job,” he said.
The Minister urged the graduates to continuously upgrade their skills as technological developments reshape the labour market.
He noted that artificial intelligence, automation and digital technologies are rapidly transforming professions, with some existing tasks disappearing while new ones emerged.
He said the government’s employment agenda focused on skills development, entrepreneurship, labour mobility, workplace safety and stronger links between education and industry.
He also disclosed that plans are underway to review Ghana’s National Employment Policy to ensure that it responded adequately to the changing nature of work.
Mr Agyekum therefore encouraged the graduates to remain technologically inclined, communicate effectively, develop problem-solving abilities and remain adaptable.
“Your CV may get you into the room, but your value will determine whether you stay there,” he said.
The Minister commended Valley View University for its contribution to private higher education and Ghana’s labour market.
He said the university had helped widen access to tertiary education, while its Career Services and work-study programme provided students with practical experience and promoted the dignity of labour.
According to him, universities should prepare students not only to pass examinations but also to contribute to society, create opportunities and serve others.
He also congratulated VVU students who represented the university in the Tertiary Business Sense Challenge, saying their performance demonstrated practical business knowledge, critical thinking, teamwork and preparedness for the world of work.
Mr Agyekum urged the graduates to make service an important purpose of their professional lives.
He said service could take different forms depending on one’s profession, including creating jobs, conducting research that solves societal problems, teaching effectively, caring for patients, managing public resources responsibly, designing better systems and developing useful technologies.
“Whatever profession you enter, keep asking: Who is better because of the work I did?” he asked.
He advised the graduates not to measure success solely by salary, title or position but by the value they created, the people they helped, the opportunities they opened for others and the institutions they left stronger than they found them.
The Minister also reminded the graduates to acknowledge the sacrifices of their parents, guardians, lecturers, friends and others who contributed to their success.
In his remarks, Mr Agyekum challenged the graduates to carry the values of excellence, integrity and service into their professional and personal lives.
He said some would sign employment contracts, business agreements, research papers and professional decisions, while others could eventually sign employment letters for hundreds or thousands of Ghanaians.
“When that day comes, remember this day,” he told the graduates.
He urged them to remember that they are leaving Valley View University grounded in excellence and integrity and commissioned to serve.
“Make it a signature of quality. Make it a signature of trust. Make it a signature of opportunity. Make it a signature of service,” he said.
Mr Agyekum expressed the hope that when the current generation eventually “signs its name on the future of Ghana”, it would be a signature the country would be proud to recognise.
By 1960news.com
