Off the wire
• Spanish stock market rises 0.18 pct, closes at 11,595 points  • Russia, Iraq mull deeper cooperation, joint fight against terrorism  • New method helps identify stem cell for heart repair: study  • Portugal among most unequal countries in OECD  • LME base metals close mixed on Thursday  • IS executes 17 people over 24 hours in Syria's Palmyra  • Mbeki blasts multinationals for illegally moving billions out of Africa  • UAE, Mongolia aim to step up trade ties  • Jordan, Egypt call for continued efforts to combat terrorism  • Existing home sales in U.S. continues to drop in April  
You are here: 　 Home

Microsoft partners IICD to support Ghana's job creation programs

Xinhua, May 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Software giant Microsoft joined the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) launched a project here on Thursday to support Ghana's youth employment and entrepreneurship programs.

The project, dubbed "Tizaa Works," is aimed at facilitating employment and entrepreneurial opportunities of at least 10,000 youths in Ghana within a year.

Brat Smith, General Counsel and Executive Vice-President, Legal and Corporate Affairs of Microsoft, said the project aimed at using technology to empower youth at all levels to be able to find proper jobs and transform others into employers rather than employees.

"Technology can empower young people to make a vital contribution to their communities and our world. We hope that this platform serves as a bridge connecting Ghana's young people to the tools and resources and people they need to find fulfilling careers," Smith said.

He said one thing people coming out of school needed to know was that they could find jobs when they knew where the jobs were and "Tizaa Works can solve this problem in Ghana."

"It uses technology in a new way, technology empowering people to do more than they have been doing before," the Microsoft top executive said.

The project, which is an on-line platform, has over 400 courses from its partners targeted at the youth for free in planning their careers.

This is done through career counseling, getting trained through mentorship and matching in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), entrepreneurship, curricula vitae writing and soft language skills.

Deputy Minister for Communications, Ato Sarpong, commended Microsoft and IICD for the initiative, saying the new platform will support initiatives put in place by government for youth employment and entrepreneurship.

He said the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) center being established by government would create a lot of opportunities for the youth once their skill sets were shaped and sharpened for that market.

Dennis Zulu, Deputy Director for The International Labor Organization (ILO) Office for English Speaking West Africa, pointed out that one of the major challenges for youth in Africa and Ghana was skills mismatch.

"Youth are trained in skills that are not what the market desires; they do not have the opportunity to gather the needed experience for the job market, while the policy environment that enables job creation is also not right," Zulu stated.

He described the right type of job as one that provides income security, social protection and the freedom of expression which will make an employee feel a part of the development and the growth of the business.

The ILO official urged the private sector to participate in the skill development of youth so that they could contribute to creating the right type of skills the markets were looking for. Endi