ILO supports Ghana to strengthen the impact of Sector and Trade Policies on Employment

ACCRA (ILO NEWS) – The 4th Policy Working Group Meeting highlighted ground-breaking milestones related to the successful completion of three background studies on employment in the agro-processing and agriculture sectors; on employment in the infrastructure sector; and the impact of trade on employment in Ghana.

The main purpose of the background studies was to provide a better sense of the overall employment situation in the agriculture and agro-processing sector as well as the infrastructure sector which will subsequently serve as input and guide to the Government of Ghana in addressing employment issues.

Ghana is one of the 10 countries where ILO is working to improve impact of trade and sector policies on employment through the implementation of the project, “Strengthening the Impact of Sector and Trade Policies on Employment” (STRENGTHEN).

The European Union funded project which was launched in October 2016 aims to strengthen the capabilities of country partners to analyse and design sectoral and trade policies and programs that would enhance employment creations in terms of quantity and quality. It is being implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the social partners and other national project stakeholders.

The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the employment dimension in policies and programmes related to international trade with better analysis, more coherent policy-making, and enhanced programmes that are designed to encourage employment creation and upgrading. This project supports Ghana in leveraging industries that are competitive in international trade towards providing more opportunities for decent work within the country and raising the number of workers who are productively employed.

Since its inception, the project has established a 17-member Policy Working Group comprising representatives from relevant Government Ministries, Employers’ Union, Workers’ Union and the Academia which supports the implementation of the ILO STRENGTHEN Project within the context of the National Employment Policy (NEP). It specifically oversees and guides the implementation of the project ensuring links to national indicators and responding to the needs of the targeted sectors.

The project is currently working towards the roll out of the Trade in Value Chains and Employment-Rich Activities (TRAVERA) Study and Survey which aims to help developing-country firms, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, integrate into export value chains in a way that results in higher employment and increasing levels of productivity and incomes for workers.

Focusing on results

TRAVERA will focus on export-oriented activities and be based on the ILO’s Value Chains Development (VCD) approach (see Value chain development for decent work: how to create employment and improve working conditions in targeted sectors /International Labour Office. - 2nd ed. - Geneva: ILO, 2015). This approach helps enterprises, particularly small- and medium-sized ones, identify and exploit market opportunities that have the potential to create quality jobs.

ILO representative at the workshop, Ms. Akua Ofori Asumadu noted that the aim is to strengthen all aspects of the supply chain from raw material to consumer to deliver greater value and benefits for workers from economic growth and development. As such, the VCD programme will focus on the sectors that are most relevant for job creation and job quality improvement such as low-tech manufacturing (e.g., apparel, footwear, and food processing), higher-tech manufacturing (e.g., electronics assembly), commodities (e.g., agriculture and mining), and services (e.g., call centres, business services, tourism, and logistics). She stated that it is expected that the results of TRAVERA will lead to improved understanding of the job-creation potential of trade and VC activities; enhanced capacity of policymakers to harness trade and VCs for job creation; and increased participation by small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing strategies for increasing employment.

The Director of Planning and Coordination of the National Development Planning Commission, Dr Isaac Mensa-Bonsu who was present at the meeting expressed his content with regards to the progress of the project and its links to national development policies. He commended the efforts put into achieving better policy impact and encouraged the PWG to keep up with the good work as the objectives are relevant to achieving the national employment goals.