Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, says the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP) will enhance skills development and job creation in the country.
He said the Ministry was implementing the GJSP as part of efforts to develop and operationalize the Ghana Labour Market Information System and revamp 16 Public Employment Centres across the country.
The Minister said this in a speech read on his behalf at a consultative meeting for representatives of persons with disabilities to introduce the GJSP to them in Accra.
The meeting was also to solicit input to enable the Ministry to implement measures that would address the needs of people with disabilities.
The GJSP is a World Bank-sponsored project, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations in collaboration with the Ministries of Education, Finance, and Trade and Industry.
The project will ensure state stability, social cohesion and economic inclusion.
The more than 40 participants, who attended the Accra meeting, were drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and civil society organisations (CSOs).
The workshop aimed to ensure that the project deliverables are accessible and useful to all segments of the labour force.
Mr Baffour-Awuah said the Ghana Labour Market Information System was envisioned to be a one-stop-shop for all labour market data/information that would enable stakeholders to make evidence-based decisions, including skills that jobseekers would need to develop to facilitate their employment in the industry.
He said the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations was responsible for coordinating and regulating the labour market and was mandated to promote job creation in the productive sectors through the development and strengthening of intersectoral linkages
“Over the years, the Ministry has performed this mandate to the best of its abilities and we have seen the establishment of the Youth Employment Agency that is implementing a number of interventions or job creation modules in an attempt to address youth unemployment,” he said.
“Despite, the efforts, there are several challenges that impede the ability of the Ministry and its agencies to meet the demands of jobseekers, particularly persons with disability.”
He said the Ministry had noted the difficulties and challenges that most persons with disabilities face in job placement and employment, adding that these challenges could be addressed with accurate information about the employment needs of persons with disabilities.
“We should know at a glance the numbers that we churn out into the labour market every year, how many of you require special assistance in order to be placed in particular sectors of the economy, the type of assistance that is required as well as specific employment promotion intervention and labour active policies that need to be implemented to support job creation among persons with disability.”
He said the Ministry was aware that the most effective way to ensure social inclusion was to promote sustainable job creation for persons with disability.
Mr Ernest Berko, Project Coordinator, GJSP Component Three, said the implementation of the Project would enable Ghana to have a user-friendly web-based and easily accessible one-stop-shop labour market information system.
Mr Bismark Amoh, Project Manager, Ghana Blind Union, in an interview, urged employers to stop discriminating against persons with disability in all aspects of the employment relationship.
