A National Employment Policy, which aims to address the inter-sectoral linkages and provide a roadmap for sustainable job creation opportunities, was, yesterday, launched in Accra.
The Policy focuses on employment components such as entrepreneurial development, private sector competitiveness, linking agriculture to the other sectors of the economy, research and innovation, and vocational and technical skills development.
President John Dramani Mahama, who launched the policy, in a key note address, acknowledged the role of the private sector as key to accelerated socio-economic development and a driving engine to the creation of decent employment opportunities and income generation.
The launch took place at the opening of a National Jobs Summit, which is being jointly organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The summit is expected to engage relevant stakeholders and social partners in the employment industry to share knowledge and best practices on job creation at the national, regional and international levels.
The theme for the two-day summit is “Inclusive Growth through the Creation of Productive Employment and Decent Work”.
President Mahama announced that government would soon modify the Labour Department into an Employment Resource Centre, where the youth could access and register their details so that the Centre would keep a database of all unemployed youth for companies to employ per the description they wanted.
He assured all companies who would access the Centre for job opportunities of rewards.
In a welcome address, the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu said government prioritised youth employment as young people had a weaker links to the world of work with women being disadvantaged.
Hon. Iddrisu disclosed that Parliament had just passed the Youth Employment Act, which had been assented to by the President.
In a statement, Mr Guy Ryder, Director-General of ILO, said decent jobs were the medium for government transformation as it stood as a key factor in poverty alleviation, noting, however, that unemployment was a global phenomenon that bedevilled all governments.
He invited President Mahama to the ILO Conference due to take place in June, this year.
In her remarks, Mrs Cecilia Johnson, Chairman of the Council of State and Chairman for the occasion, called for a national consensus on dealing with unemployment and the provision of decent jobs for Ghanaians.
Source: ISD
