The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), in partnership with SNV Ghana, has organised employers’ engagement dinner to solicit views on what employers expect from applicants during job interviews or internship.
Also, it is to mobilise employers with employment and internship opportunities ahead of a one-day job fair under the SNV GrEEn project schedule for this month.
Hilda Abambire, Business Development and Market Linkages Advisor on the SNV GrEEn Business, explained to the B&FT that the engagement is to get to know the expectation of employers, or what they want from potential job seekers who will meet what their company’ or industry need.
With this, she said employers will not struggle looking for people who will not fit for a specific job.
“The whole job fair is to do a kind of match-making between employers and potential job seekers, where job seekers would fit the capacities that employers are looking for in their organisation,” she said.
She noted that there is a huge gap between what employers want and what employees are looking for, and there is also a gap between the institutions and the training that would fit job seekers to meet the market. Currently, she noted, that the industry or the market has specific needs. So, institutions or schools should be able to do some kind of tailored training that will meet the market and the industry.
“That’s the reason why we’re doing this in order to ensure that the gaps that we have been able to identify will be addressed, if not – at least – minimised,” she added.
Albert Ababio, Western and Central Regional Manager of the Association of Ghana industries (AGI), pointed out that the private sector is a major employer of the people in their country.
“And for the AGI, we think that one of our main mandate while pushing for Ghanaian industries to thrive is to also employ a lot of our youths. We think this is an important project we have to be on so that we grant opportunities for would-be employees to engage employers, know what their expectations are, know what the employers are looking out for so that at the end of the day, it will be a win-win situation,” he said.
Also, he said it is expected that individuals looking for jobs will get what they require, and employers will get their money’s worth, employ people, train them, and get them to work so they can get returns on their investment.
“So, for the AGI, we feel that is an important project that we commit ourselves to. We are going to see to the successful implementation of the targets the project seeks to achieve, and encouraged the youth to avail themselves during the job fair,” Mr. Ababio added.
