The Ghana High Commission in the United Kingdom has launched a programme to afford Ghanaian professionals abroad the opportunity to find jobs back home. A key component of the programme is a skills database into which job applicants can upload their CVs and other skills. Ghana’s ambassador to the UK and Northern Ireland, Professor Kwaku Danso Boafo says the move will help more Ghanaians to return to help build the country. Speaking on Joy Fm’s documentary series Hotline, Prof. Danso Boafo said the system automatically update itself and matches skills and experiences of applicants when a vacancy is announced. Prof. Danso Boafo said this will enable government and the private sector identify the skills of the applicants and employ their services where necessary. Meanwhile, a professor at the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research ISSER and Deputy Director at the Centre for Migratory Studies, Professor Peter Quartey says the system would work best for people with special skills. Professor Quartey made it clear that promoting legal migration and discouraging illegal migration should be priorities for the Ghanaian government, in part because illegal immigrants tend to encounter greater difficulties when seeking work abroad. He alluded to talks with the Minister of the Interior aimed at fulfilling these goals. He expressed admiration for the Philippines, whose government has established partnerships with some Western nations that allow Filipino workers to legally seek work in those countries in a manner beneficial to the governments sending and receiving the labor. He suggests that Ghana pursue similar alliances in the West.