Thousands of youth thronged the Youth Employment Agency Job Fair on Thursday, September 9, 2021, in search of jobs from several employers.
They formed long queues at the Accra International Conference Centre, and many of them struggled to enter the building to secure jobs with companies.
In Ghana, available data indicates that about 600,000 people out of the total labour force of over 12 million are not employed.
Analysts have warned that the figure may go up if interventions are not put in place.
Key among all the promises in budget statements by governments over the years has been job creation.
In efforts to support this aim, the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) organized a job fair with the primary objective of providing opportunities for job seekers to go through live interview sessions towards getting employed by the participating companies from the private sector.
According to the Agency, 3,500 job vacancies are to be filled by the end of the two-day job fair.
But this initiative came with its own problems, as thousands of job seekers gathered at the Accra International Conference Centre and struggled their way through the gates to interact with the employers.
Some of these persons shared their frustrations with Citi Business News.
One of them said, “I was here as early as 8:00am, and it’s almost 1:00pm. The experience has been very tough because there is no organization at the place, and we are all just here rushing in and coming out.”
“I got here around 9:30 am, and it is almost 1:00pm. When we got here, we were asked to do registration, but things are not working here. It is now left to who is strong that can enter,” another also said.
A Deputy CEO of the Youth Employment Agency, Alhaji Bashiru Ibrahim, however, stated that the attendees exceeded the agency’s expectations.
“Initially, we had a target, but the interest has gone beyond what we were anticipating. There are almost 150 companies here and over 3,500 vacancies so far have been declared. It is our hope that the various people here seeking jobs will meet the requirements of the companies so that they can be employed.”
He further assured that his outfit would track the persons who would gain employment to assess their performances at their various workplaces.
He noted, “YEA will track every single person and ensure that the person who went through the interview will be employed. At the end of the day, if you’re picked by a company, we’ll still want to monitor your progress, so it’s not just about creating an avenue for employers and employees to meet. It is also our responsibility to ensure that we track and follow the various people at wherever they are employed.”
