Sunyani, Sept. 15, GNA – Ms Regina B. Barbosa, the Country Director of GIZ, has urged the government to develop skills in ‘green ‘ jobs by providing the necessary tools, teaching and learning materials.
She said, »in a world where climate change confronts us, we must begin to incorporate Green » skills in today’s labour market.
Green skilled jobs are employments, which do not damage the environment, but contribute to protecting and restoring natural resources.
She cited green jobs such as technicians in waste management or green cooling, solar power, wind energy and experts in bio-agriculture.
Ms Barbosa was speaking at the opening of the »Ghana Job Fair 2022 (Green Edition)”, on the theme: »Connecting Talents and Opportunities » in Sunyani.
The two-day Job fair was under the auspices of the Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (GGC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations with the support of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Ghana and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.
The fair seeks to equip jobseekers with labour market essential skills for the corporate industry, promote virtual work skills and jobs, provide a forum for exchange between job seekers and corporate labour needs with a focus on eco-friendly digital work, boost the government’s eco-preneurial drive and the government’s employment promotion initiatives.
Ms Barbosa stressed the need for more investment in practical and transferable skills such as Information Technology, Digital and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) to equip young people with the requisite competencies for employment and entrepreneurship.
She, therefore, advised participants, especially jobseekers, to take advantage and upgrade their skills through the seminar to bridge the skills gap that existed between job seekers and employers.
Ms Barbosa said while there remained significant challenges in readily available jobs and requisite employable skills, the GGC together with the Ministry of Employment and other partners would continue to make job promotion and skills enhancement a top priority to meet the needs of employers.
On her part, Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, said the major human resource potential that could contribute immensely to the development of the nation was the youth because they constituted the agents of social change, economic development and technological innovation.
« The ability of countries to unearth this readily available potential could determine the buoyancy in pursuing their socio-economic and political development objectives », she said.
Mad. Owusu-Banahene said it was on this basis that governments over the years continued to pay attention and commit financial resources to the advancement of youth development and empowerment programmes.
She said the New Patriotic Party government had formulated youth policies aimed at providing skills necessary for productivity growth and sustainable development, saying the key among them was the investment in TVET, apprenticeship programmes for the youth and business support.
Benjamin Akoto
