The Government through the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) is revamping the Labour Department with the construction of 16 new Public Employment Centres (PECs). 

Under the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP), the Ministry has constructed one PEC in each of the 16 regions with funding from the World Bank, and the goal is to improve capacities to support skills development and job creation in Ghana.  

As part of the project, the Ghana Labour Market Information System (GLMIS) has been developed to provide a one-stop avenue for employers and job seekers to source information on available jobs and skill sets. 

Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Sector Minister, at a ceremony to inaugurate the Konongo-Odumase PEC, said the Labour Department had tried under difficult conditions over the years to provide labour market and employment promotion services to employers and job seekers.  

“We noticed that the world of work is changing, and we needed to upgrade the logistical and human resource capacity of the Department to make it more competitive and capable of meeting the needs of the contemporary labour market,” the Minister stated. 

He explained that at the time of the project design, the Ministry noticed the fragmented nature of the labour market coupled with the deplorable state of infrastructure at the Department, which made it difficult for the Ministry to coordinate and promote employment services.  

According to him, the Department was heavily constrained in terms of the collection and dissemination of information regarding interactions in the labour market to enable stakeholders including employers, jobseekers, training institutions, curriculum developers and policymakers take informed decisions about the dynamics of the labour market. 

The newly constructed PECs are one way of positioning the Labour Department to enable it to provide quality services to employers, jobseekers and training institutions, the Minister indicated. 

The PECs provide avenues for job seekers to ask about job vacancy availability, post their career profiles on the GLMIS and interact with employers.  

It also provides the opportunity for jobseekers to access a wide range of labour market resources to enable them to study emerging trends, acquire skills in high demand and adjust their career paths to meet the demands of the world of work.  

Mr Baffour Awuah said the Government was convinced that the services that the PECs provided would go a long way to contribute to the development of critical skill sets for national economic transformation, minimise skills mismatch and reduce unemployment. 

“With the existence of the Public Employment Centres, our young people looking for jobs and employable skills can always approach the Centres, enquire about the available vacancies, acquire the skills they need to get the jobs and be advised on how and where they can acquire the skills to improve their career path choices, he noted. 

Mr Robert Yaw Kwarkye, the Asante-Akim Central Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), said the establishment of PECs across the regions was a demonstration of the government’s commitment to reduce unemployment to the barest minimum. 

“These established offices will give the government accurate numbers of jobseekers and unemployed in the Municipality to fashion out appropriate policies and programmes to address unemployment issues using the available local opportunities and resources,” the MCE said.