As part of efforts to have a successful GrEEn job fair, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs (GCYE) has held an employer’s forum to establish the requirements they seek and the job openings available at their various organisations.
The forum forms part of the Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) Project for the Ashanti and Western Regions, which is funded by the European Union and is being co-implemented by SNV Ghana and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
According to the Skills Development Advisor for SNV’s GrEEn Project in the Ashanti Region, Gifty Afi Cudjoe, the post-assessments her organisation has held on job fairs in the country have shown a huge gap – hence matching job seekers to jobs is not properly done.
She explained that most often than not organisers do not pay attention to the needs of demand and supply, adding that organisers do not collate the real needs of employers – and they also do not take time to pick feedback on recruits and how they conduct themselves when they are eventually employed.
Speaking to B&FT during the engagement with employers, Ms. Cudjoe was optimistic that this engagement will ensure the right job seekers are made available to organisations with job opportunities at their firms.
“There are jobs; only that job seekers are ill-prepared – that is why for the 2022 GrEEn Job Fair, the GrEEn Project is collaborating with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and other partners. We are here engaging these employers who are giving us some openings just so we can capture the challenges they face with employees in terms of their character, conduct and the life skills they need to exhibit. Our aim is to pick feedback on the openings they give us and validate them. Prior to the job fair, we will be organising CV clinics to also prepare job seekers to meet these employers and secure jobs,” she said.
For his part, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs, Sheriff Ghalia, indicated that job seekers will be briefed on the need to venture into entrepreneurship during the Green Job Fair.
“The Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs is a partner of SNV Ghana, and our role is to facilitate this engagement with employers and enhance engagement with job seekers. In as much as we are connecting job seekers to jobs, we want them to see entrepreneurship as an alternative. So, during that day we will be having an entrepreneurship programme wherein resource persons will share important information for attending job seekers, for some of them to consider venturing into entrepreneurship,” Mr. Dalia said.
Authorities from the Labour Department also used the opportunities to brief employers on some of the labour laws regarding remuneration and incentives for their staff and prospective recruits.
About GrEEn Project
The Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) project is a four-year action from the European Union, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
The project aims at creating greater economic and employment opportunities for youth, women and returning migrants by promoting and supporting sustainable, green businesses and providing employable skills training to youth job seekers in the Ashanti and Western Regions in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development.
GrEEn is implemented under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa, with a total contribution of €20,600,000.
