Ghana sets up $30m World Bank-funded labour market information system

The Government is preparing to operationalize the Ghana Labour Market Information System (GLMIS) in September 2023, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) has announced.

The US$30 million World Bank-funded advanced technology platform is to serve as a one-stop shop for all labour market information and connect job seekers from both the formal and informal sectors of the economy to employers.

It would provide synchronised data from all State entities as well as private sector organisations on Ghana’s employment situation, including emerging trends, in-demand skills and training opportunities.

The GLMIS would also have accessibility features like text-to-speech, adjustable font sizes and keyboard navigations to enable persons with disabilities to access and utilise the platform.

Ghana’s move is in conformity with the standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which encourages good practice in the development and use of labour market information for human resources development and programme planning and suggests strategies for overcoming the barriers to its use.

Nana Amoako Bonti Kakra Asante, a Management and Information System (MIS) Specialist for the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project at the Ministry, said the system would “allow jobs seekers and employers to trade and market themselves.”

“The whole idea is to make the system a one-stop platform so it will be easier for people who are seeking jobs while informing the government and other entities on policy-making decisions on employment and labour issues,” he said.

Nana Asante said this on Thursday when the Ministry engaged personnel from some media houses in Accra as part of its stakeholder interactions ahead of the official launch of the digital labour market information platform by September.

The engagement was to enlighten and inform the media of the new system to help them in championing the information dissemination process of GLMIS.

On cybersecurity issues, Nana Asante said the Ministry in collaboration with major stakeholders, including the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) and the Data Protection Agency, would secure all biodata and other information of users of the platform.

“We’re making sure that the data subject of those individuals who key in their information will be protected by the principles of the Data Protection Agency,” he assured.

He added that the platform would be scrutinised by officers of the Ministry to ensure that fraudulent persons did not have access to the platform to guarantee the safety of information for job seekers and employers.

Mr Bright Wireku-Brobbey, Deputy Minister, MELR, urged the media to support the Ministry with the dissemination of information about the GLMIS to reach a wider populace.

He said the Ministry would ensure timely implementation of GLMIS in fulfillment of their mandate to provide Ghanaians with information on labour and employment.

“This ground-breaking system represents a significant step towards fostering a more efficient and inclusive job market in Ghana and heralds a new era of connectivity and opportunity, empowering job seekers and employers alike,” the Minister said.

He said he was confident that with the implementation of the Ghana Labour Market Information System, disparities in labour and employment data in the country would be solved and called on all stakeholders to support it.