In 2009, Ghana formally ended the first Ghana Decent Work Country Programme (GDWCP-I). Under this Programme which various projects (including those focussing on Local Economic Development, HIV-AIDS awareness for the informal economy as well as efforts to eliminate child labour) were successfully implemented. Unemployment remains a major development issue in many countries – in Ghana the rates are quite high especially among the youth. Recent improvements in Ghana’s economic growth since 2001 have not translated adequately into employment. There is a strong correlation between the employment situation and poverty – of the current national population of about 24 million, about 7 million live in poverty and over 4 million are in extreme poverty. Income poverty is the result of unemployment, under-employment and very low income of the working poor in low productivity jobs (jobs where there is high labor utilization but for low returns). Consequently, the unemployment among the economically active population is still high. Under-employment is also a major problem especially among women engaged in agriculture in rural areas. The capacity to provide productive employment to the unemployed persons among the economically active population is a major challenge. Notably, the educational system continually produces unskilled, semi-skilled and unemployable young graduates into a job market with comparably few job opportunities which should be leading to a reflection on the kind of policy interventions which will be needed to overcome the challenges. The consensus is that it is crucial that government bridges the gap between policy design and full implementation of employment-intensive growth strategies in order to facilitate the creation of productive employment opportunities in Ghana. ~ Paa Kwesi B. Inkumsah
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 12:48:31 +0000
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