Chief Executive Officer, Devapps Ltd, Dr Mercy Gardiner, O. Tenkorang, an Internet Technology (IT) company focused on enterprise resource planning (ERP), has underscored the need for technical skills training to go hand in hand with soft skills at the tertiary level to ensure a well-rounded workforce.
She highlighted the importance of soft skills like communication, teamwork, preparation of a Curriculum vitae (CV), presentation skills, emotional intelligence, and creative problem-solving among others, which are often overlooked in traditional technical training programmes.
Speaking on the theme: “The future of technology: predicting the impact of greater gender diversity in technology on future innovation and industries,” she mentioned that a lot of Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), graduates especially, females lack soft skills that job seekers look out for hence the need for educational institutions to be deliberate about soft-skills provision.
“Technical skills are essential, but soft skills are what makes a workforce effective. By combining both technical and soft skills training in our curriculum, graduates would be well-equipped for the world of work and employers can ensure that they have a workforce that is not only skilled but also able to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems effectively,” she said.
She made these remarks at Jobberman Ghana’s executive roundtable event to address young women’s participation in the technology sector.
This forms part of the M-FIT Project being implemented by Jobberman Ghana in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) within the framework of Invest for Jobs.
The event held under the theme: “Diversity & Inclusion: Empowering Young Women in Tech for Career Success,” brought together several scholars, about 100 female beneficiaries of the Jobberman/GIZ soft skills training Programme, and women in tech who engaged in meaningful discussions about women empowerment, soft skills development, and networking among others.
CEO, of Jobberman Ghana, Hilda Nimo-Tieku, emphasized that the majority of job owners believed soft skills are as important as technical skills hence the need to place significant importance on developing soft skills in the youth.
“Investing in both technical and soft skills training is necessary to develop young graduates that can operate effectively in today’s ever-changing business landscape. By doing so, businesses can ensure that they have employees who are not only skilled but also possess the soft skills necessary to drive success,” she said.
She added that to bridge the gender gap in the technology sector, this project was designed to empower and equip young women with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), backgrounds with essential soft skills, making them employable in the tech space.
“Currently, 100 young women with a STEM background have completed the soft skills training. 60 of these young women will be placed in tech and tech-enabled roles by March 2024,” she added.
On her part, Vice President of the Academic City University College, Ing. Dr. Lucy Agyepong, touching on the event theme, stressed that women are highly skilled and tend to perform better in every profession. Additionally, multitasking is quite peculiar to females, and therefore the inclusion of women in the technology space creates diversity and better results and outcomes.
