Ghana Standards Authority confronted by 'employee raiding'

The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has said some of its best-trained personnel are being lured away by competing state entities while others repatriate abroad upon completion of higher studies sponsored by the authority despite still under bond.

According to the Director-General of GSA Prof. Alex Dodoo, for instance, one of the personnel currently under training has left to join another state agency even though that person was bonded.

“If they leave GSA and go to other state agencies or other organisations in Ghana and pay back the bond, we are happy. Our biggest worry is the one or two who have left the shores of Ghana to other countries,” he stated.

He lamented: “Sadly, apart from getting the personnel under training to sign bonds, there is nothing else we can do. The more you train people, the more they become attractive to international organisations and countries”.

The GSA boss contended that equipping people to be the best makes them likely to be poached.

This notwithstanding, he said the GSA Board is determined to continue to contribute to enhance the competence of the employees of the authority.

Prof. Dodoo, who was speaking in an interview at the sidelines of a ‘Scientific Conference’ organised in Accra by the authority, disclosed that some 32 workers are currently being trained in various fields related to the operations of GSA in the leading universities of the country.

“Of the number being trained, eight are in GIMPA with the rest being with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Ghana and University of Cape coast,” he stated.

“They are doing various PhD programmes, with about two having graduated and six more expected to graduate this year,” he added.

These talents, he said are mentoring other staff of GSA as part of efforts to improve the human resource. “For us to compete with the world, it is about knowledge. We live in a knowledge-based era,” he said.

The intent, he stressed, is to translate the knowledge to support consumers and create a better market for industry, while also creating opportunities for young aspiring graduates to identify attractive field of work, among others.

During the ‘Scientific Workshop’, two employees of GSA who are pursuing PhD programmes within the country took turns to share their research project and how it seeks to impact the organisation, industry and the larger Ghanaian public.

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The 8th Scientific Conference was held under the theme ‘Enforcing the GSA Act: Strategies from Metrology and Inspectorate Directorates’. The conference offers staff the opportunity to update themselves in a designated area of services and current activities within the directorates.

Previously an internal event, the conference has been restructured to make it accessible to the public through the media and other channels, aligning with the GSA’s functions outlined in the Ghana Standards Authority Act 2022 (Act 1078).

It aims to outline and seek suggestions and recommendations on how the various organs of the organisation can use the new GSA Act to improve work.

Prof. Dodoo, in his welcome address at the event, said: “As Ghana’s National Standards Body, National Metrology Institute as well as the National Conformity Assessment Body, the GSA has a critical role to play in Ghana’s socio-economic development”.

Furthermore, he said: “We believe in embracing scientific and technical expertise across various disciplines, including the humanities, as a catalyst for national development.”