Established in 1973, the National Service Scheme (NSS) is a Government of Ghana program under the Ministry of Education of Ghana with a National Secretariat in Accra, and offices in all administrative regions and districts across the country.

The scheme is mandated to deploy a pool of skilled manpower drawn primarily from tertiary institutions to support development efforts of both the public and private sectors in Ghana.

Although it is a citizenry requirement for all Ghanaians who are eighteen years above, it is currently limited to, and mandatory for all Ghanaians graduating from tertiary educational institutions who are not less than eighteen years old.

The original intent of deploying freshly graduating youth under the NSS arrangement, is to ensure that priority sectors of our national life are never lacking in the requisite human resources needed for development.