The Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, says the government has developed a Labour Market Information System to help job seekers easily find available work across the country.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ AM Show, Dr Pelpuo explained that his ministry’s role is to coordinate job opportunities across different sectors and make them accessible, especially to young people.
“My office has a multi-sectoral approach to creating jobs. The jobs are scattered all around, so mine is to make sure I monitor what is happening, draw the attention of young people to them, and create opportunities for them to have access to all the labour areas that are available.”
According to the minister, the Labour Market Information System has been designed as a central electronic platform where job opportunities can be recorded and accessed by the public.
“What we are doing is to develop, and we have developed, the labour market information system that allows all these areas of jobs to be recorded. You go into the labour market system, you find the jobs available, you apply there, and you get a response there. It’s open to all.”
He said the system is online-based and supported by public employment centres across the country. All 16 regions currently have centres, with plans to extend them further.
“Wherever you are in the country, we have established public employment centres in various regions. We are going down to the districts or the municipalities where the centres are established. You can go in there, check, and find what is available.”
Dr Pelpuo disclosed that although the platform is not yet officially launched, it has already been tested by many users.
“We are yet to launch it this year, so it’s not so popular. But many people have tried it when we opened it up for trials. The whole of last year, we have been working on it. It’s been tested, and we are now getting ready to launch it officially.”
He added that the system is meant to help people understand what jobs are available and how to access them.
“This system is to help get people to understand what works are available, what opportunities are available, and how they can access them,” he explained.
The minister said government is encouraging both public and private sector organisations to upload their job vacancies onto the platform. At the moment, he said, opportunities in the government sector have largely been covered.
“We are encouraging all organisations, including the private sector, to put their information in there for job seekers. At the moment, we’ve been able to cover every opportunity you can find in the government sector. We are moving into the private sector to hook them in.”
He revealed that discussions have already been held with private sector players to show them the benefits of using the system.
“Last year, we had a conference or seminar with a lot of private sector people. You don’t need to go advertising and getting people to apply. Just put it there, and you’ll get responses.”
Dr Pelpuo explained that institutions on the platform will be able to update their vacancies regularly.
“At every point in time, you can say there are 10 jobs today, tomorrow there are 20 jobs available. It’s a dynamic process.”
Users will be required to sign up before accessing the system. He described the Ghana Labour Information System as “information on the labour market presented in a consolidated and structured way and accessible to different users.”
Dr Pelpuo said the relatively calm labour front is the result of coordination and constant engagement with stakeholders.
“It’s a coordination from my end of all the issues that are likely to create labour disturbance. It is also the cooperation with the labour leaders who I work and speak with.”
He added that close collaboration with the Minister of Finance is also key. “I work with the Minister of Finance a lot because it is the heart of it all. How do we respond to challenges on labour seeking benefits or legally acceptable responses from the government?”
According to him, government is being cautious in managing the economy while addressing labour concerns.
“We are working with an economy that can give or not be able to give. We need time to stabilise it and make it efficient, and we are being careful not to spend in ways that can reduce the speed of economic recovery,” he said.
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