German envoy and Deputy Minister cutting the tape to open the event
The second edition of the Ghana Job Fair has commenced in Accra, with 1,000 job offers for qualified job seekers that patronised the event.
The event, which brought together about 2,000 job seekers and over 120 employers, was aimed at tackling unemployment by providing a platform to share ideas and match the skills of jobseekers with the available jobs.
It was organised by the Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (GCC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) and the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana (AHK Ghana).
Speaking at an opening ceremony, the German Ambassador to Ghana, Christoph Retzlaff, commended the government for the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ vision, which also tackles the challenge of youth unemployment in the country.
He said that Ghana has 60 per cent of its population under the age of 25.
“On the other hand, if we do not provide the right working environment for the teeming youth it would be a destabilising factor in the economy where the youth would migrate in search of greener pastures.
“Germany stands ready to support Ghana. We have committed ourselves to training 25,000 young Ghanaians in the next three years, and supporting Ghana in the construction of two new centres of excellence for vocational training,” he said.
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, in a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko Brobbey, said there is a disconnect between employers and jobseekers as a result of the lack of information.
“This is why a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between MELR and GIZ focused on employment promotion through job-matching, vocational counselling and guidance,” he said.
The Country Director of German Development Co-operation (GIZ), Alan Walsch, advised the ministry and participating companies to organise job fairs in future without necessarily relying on foreign agencies.
By Issah Mohammed