Employment and Labour minister opens MIAC two-day job fair
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr. Baffour Awuah, has opened a two-day job fair aimed at complementing government efforts at reducing youth unemployment.
Organised by the Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (MIAC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), the fair will run from September 3 to 4, and aims at providing on-site recruitment for unemployed youth.
Dubbed the MIAC Job Fair 2018, it has been preceded by a series of trainings for the participants to ensure ideal matches between employers and potential employees.
It is targeted at 300 persons for whom at least 100 vacancies would be made available.
Mr Awuah said government was working on various schemes to reduce the unemployment rate, which has been on the rise over the years, especially among the youth.
He said reports had shown strong link between unemployment and labour migration, adding that, government’s policies had been targeted with emphasis on creating jobs.
He said better employment opportunities for the youth in the country would help stem the tide of migration to seek greener pastures outside.
Mr Awuah said government was committed to partnerships to help address the unemployment situation.
Mr Christoph Retzlaff, German Ambassador to Ghana, said Ghana is an important partner of Germany.
He said investment was the main goal of Germany’s cooperation with Ghana and said he was encouraged by the growing interest of German investors in Ghana.
Mr David Tette, Senior National Coordinator of CIM-Programme Migration for Development, said the Centre provides advice on regular migration, local labour market opportunities and the socioeconomic reintegration of returning Ghanaian migrants.
He said the centre had provided advisory services to over 4,000 returned migrants and youth in the country.
In view of the mismatch between academia and labour market demands, job seekers are often not well informed about existing opportunities. As a result of this, many young people are compelled to look for opportunities abroad.
Consequent to this lack of information and awareness, Ghana has lost many of its youth, affecting the human resource base for national development.
The MIAC JOB FAIR 2018 is expected to attract 30 companies and has at least 100 open vacancies and total participants up to 1,000.
The Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (MIAC) is part of the Global Programme Migration for Development (PMD), which is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented under the auspices of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR).
The MIAC’s objective is to advice on employment and educational perspectives for the Ghanaian youth, returnees and intending migrants alike.
Source: GNA