The Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (GGC) together with the Ministry for Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) and Delegation of German Industry and Commerce has officially opened the 2021 Hybrid edition of Ghana Job Fair.
The Ghana Job Fair, which is now extended to three days, is targeted at young jobseekers, entrepreneurs, technical and vocational artisans, among others, which aims at helping tackle unemployment and underemployment, improving skills and promoting entrepreneurship among the youth.
Feedback received from last year’s virtual edition pointed to the fact that participants wanted the number of days of the fair extended, hence, the decision to make it three days instead of one day.
In an interview with the Head of Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration, Benjamin Woeston, said the Job Fair also seeks to bridge the skills gap that exist between job seekers who exit universities and entrepreneurs.
Over all, more than 3000 participants have registered to take part in this year’s Job Fair to receive training on soft skills and entrepreneurial skills to help them meet the market demands, Woeston told the media.
He further stated that the fair will touch on four core areas, namely digital skills, employability, entrepreneurship, and networking between jobseekers and industry.
“We are trying to fix the challenges that graduates normally face and soft skills is one of them, so that is what we are trying to fix together with the participants to give them insights as to how to be poise, to be able to prepare their Curriculum Vitae (CV). The second skill is the entrepreneurial skills, we all need to be entrepreneurs, we need to be innovative and be able to network,” he said.
He said the Centre is committed to assisting Ghanaian youth in their skills enhancement in the most purposeful way.
The Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko Brobbey, said the attention of the Ministry has been drawn to the fact that prospective employees do not meet the requisite and basic skills demanded by employers, therefore, this fair will beneficial to the participants.
He added that, entrepreneurial skills are as well necessary because funds cannot be disbursed to people who do not meet the standards, therefore the collaboration of the Employment Ministry and the GGC will go a long way to help the youth.
“It is important that as the Ghana Enterprise Agency is giving out this small grants, people must be prepared to ensure that what is given them is put to good use. So this collaboration really equips people for the job market and we entreat everybody to take advantage of it” he said in an interview with the media at the official opening of the Ghana Job Fair.
The Ghana Job Fair 2021, Hybrid edition also features seasoned speakers from the private sector and will give participants a rare opportunity to engage with speakers through in-person and virtual workshops, panel discussions, among others, all on one platform. It is funded by the Government of German.
