Project on green jobs, skill training begins
The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the EU, has commenced the implementation of an integrated action on green jobs and skills project.
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The project would provide the impetus for the commencement of Component Two of the National Green Jobs Strategy. The MELR and its social partners developed the strategy to facilitate transition from the current brown economy to green economy due to climate change.
It will also ensure just and social inclusiveness that would not negatively impact on the livelihood of workers. The strategy will, therefore, prepare the labour force to harness the decent job creation potential of a green and circular economy.
Studies show that annually, 23 million working life years are lost due to human induced or climate change-related disasters.
Significance
In a speech read on his behalf at the EU-Ghana pact for skills on the integrated action of green jobs and skills project kick-off meeting, the Minister of MELR, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, said that the component two of the national strategy focused on green skills development.
He said research by ILO had revealed that the emerging green and circular economy had enormous potential for job creation if right measures were put in place. “It was in the light of this that the ministry partnered the ILO to develop the maiden national green jobs strategy in 2021,” the minister added.
Per the research, he said the country could only maximise the job creation potential of the emerging green and circular economy through skills development in the value chain. “We are happy to collaborate with the ILO and EU to kick-off the implementation of the project dubbed ‘‘Integrated action on green jobs and skills project,’ he said.
The minister gave an assurance that his outfit would continue to play its role of ensuring that green job interventions were effectively coordinated and harmonised to support the development of green enterprises to create green jobs.
Climate change
The Country Director of ILO, Dr Vanessa Phala, said due to the effects of climate change, there would be a decline in jobs in emission intensive sectors which would lead to significant opportunities for job creation, particularly in green sectors.
She said that since new inputs, processes and technologies were to be adopted in the transition towards environmental sustainability, there was the urgent need for the labour force to receive training to contribute to the green transition and “this is clearly the crux of this project and our meeting today”.
The two-year integrated action project, she said, had a clear focus and absolute dedication to the ideals of a just transition, SDGs and all relevant national policies and strategies, particularly the national green jobs strategy.
She expressed hope that the success of the project would impact positively on the people.