By Samuel SAM
The Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA-GH) recently organised a two-day job and career fair aimed at empowering female entrepreneurs and job seekers in the Northern Region.
The event, dubbed ‘Building your foundation for employment’, sought to provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed to secure employment and prepare for job interviews through practical and interactive sessions.
Held in partnership with the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management-Tamale Technical University (TaTU), Samakose, the Women’s Commissioners of the National Service Scheme Northern Region, Africa Tech Hub and Absa Bank, with funding from the African Women Development Fund, the event brought together a diverse group of job seekers and employers.
These included bank officials, human resource professionals, job recruiters and successful entrepreneurs, all of whom provided orientation on career prospects and the skills demanded in the future labour market.
Participants in the fair included students from Tamale Technical University, University for Development Studies, youth groups, unemployed graduates and others. They received training on CV preparation, mentoring, networking strategies, and participated in a job and business exhibition.
Research conducted by SWIDA-GH revealed that while Ghana’s public sector boasts a high labour force participation rate of 65 percent, surpassing the regional average of 63%, 77 percent of Ghanaian women are employed in vulnerable jobs – significantly higher than the 58 percent rate for men.
Additionally, only 8 percent of Ghanaian women have land ownership compared to men, who hold land ownership three times more often.
Alhaji Ibrahim Tamaiko, a resource person at the event, emphasised the need for better preparation among the youth, noting that many job seekers lack the ability to write effective curricula vitae and possess limited knowledge about their fields of study despite being eager to find employment. He advised the youth to cultivate a habit of reading and take advantage of available opportunities to build a better future.
Hajia Falila Sulemana, Deputy Registrar at TaTU, advised entrepreneurs to ensure that their products and services meet market requirements by registering them. She highlighted the limited job opportunities within the government sector and urged the youth to focus on becoming job creators rather than job seekers.
She also stressed the importance of researching organizations before interviews and displaying confidence during the interview process.
Executive Director of SWIDA-GH, Hajia Alima Sagito Saeed, spoke about government’s efforts to develop policies and initiatives aimed at promoting gender equity in Ghana’s public service and increasing the representation of women in leadership roles within the civil service.
She acknowledged that while progress has been made, further steps are necessary to fully empower women in the public sector.
The job and career fair, she noted, was designed to equip female entrepreneurs with the skills, knowledge and networks needed to succeed in their ventures. It also sought to address specific challenges faced by women in the entrepreneurial space and included speed-mentoring sessions for job seekers and entrepreneurs in various areas of interest.
The event served as a crucial platform for fostering the growth and development of female entrepreneurs and job seekers in Tamale, helping to bridge the gender gap in employment and entrepreneurship in Ghana.
