Choose engineering over business degrees, Salem Kalmoni advises youth

Young Ghanaians have been encouraged to pursue engineering and other technical disciplines rather than follow the growing preference for business administration qualifications, which are increasingly common in the job market. The Group Chief Executive Officer of Japan Motors Network, Salem Kalmoni, believes specialised technical skills offer young people a stronger foundation for professional growth and leadership, particularly in industries that require practical knowledge and problem-solving abilities.

He said he would make a different academic choice if given another opportunity, opting for industrial engineering instead of business administration. Speaking on Joy FM’s Personality Profile with Lexis Bill on Thursday, November 5, Mr Kalmoni said his initial decision to study business administration was largely influenced by the expectation that he would eventually take charge of the family enterprise.

“My father had drilled into me that you will take over. You’re the crown prince, and it’s about business. Take over the business, so I had it in my mind that I should take business administration,” he said. However, reflecting on his career and the demands of running a large enterprise, he said industrial engineering would have equipped him with a broader range of practical competencies.

“If I were to do it again, I would have taken industrial engineering,” he said, explaining that the discipline would have provided useful knowledge in factory operations, supply chain management and project management. Mr Kalmoni said such technical expertise could later be complemented with business education and management experience. ‘Technical skills matter’ He expressed concern about what he considers an excessive preference among young people for business-related qualifications, arguing that the growing number of graduates in the field has reduced their distinctiveness in the employment market.

“I see too many people taking business. Actually, more and more, imagine I have an MBA person in my company, having an MBA who is a cashier now. Business degrees have become commoditised. I think they’ve lost value,” he said. He urged students to consider disciplines such as engineering, which provide specialised skills that can be applied across different sectors of the economy.

According to him, people with engineering backgrounds can subsequently acquire management qualifications and move into leadership positions, but the reverse transition from a business background into engineering is often more difficult. “A lot of engineers actually eventually end up with a business degree. You can easily do that. I know many engineers who have become, who have later gone into management and an MBA,” he said.

He added: “I don’t know of any business person or social studies person who has become an engineer.” Mr Kalmoni said young people should therefore place greater emphasis on acquiring practical and technical competencies before adding business management qualifications to their education. “I would encourage the youth to take technical courses and engineering degrees.

The business is always there. You can always take it and experience it,” he said. From business graduate to industry leader Mr Kalmoni’s reflections draw on his own experience leading a major family-owned automotive enterprise. He studied for a Bachelor of Business Administration in Canada, completing the programme in 1988, before joining Japan Motors in 1991.

He later obtained an Executive Master’s degree in Governance and Leadership from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and completed an Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in 2012. He is a third-generation member of the Kalmoni family, whose business interests grew from a transport and trading enterprise established by his grandfather, Salem Kalmoni, in 1920.

Japan Motors Trading Company emerged from the family business in 1962 and was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1965. The company became a major distributor of Japanese vehicles and expanded into vehicle assembly, equipment and other automotive-related operations. Mr Kalmoni led Japan Motors Ghana as Managing Director before his elevation to Group Chief Executive Officer of Japan Motors Network in 2026, with the network operating across several West African markets.

His recommendation to young people is that professional preparation should go beyond obtaining management qualifications, with technical knowledge and industry-specific skills providing a valuable foundation for future leadership.