Deadline: 12 April 2024
The Government of Ghana with the support of the World Bank developed the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP) to support jobs and skills for individuals in the country, to be implemented for a period of five (5) years.
The objective of the project is to support skills development, upgrade and jobs for Ghanaians. It also aims at helping the government to better respond to the imperative of creating more and decent jobs for the youth and rapidly growing labour force.
The project comprises multiple activities that promote the employment and productivity of workers, as well as initiatives to strengthen the efficiency and capacity of government agencies for the various activities to be implemented under the project. The project comprises four components for skills development and job generation.
The Project is coordinated by the Ministry of Finance. The main implementing agencies are the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), under the Ministry of Education (MoE); the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI); and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations (MELR). The main partnering agency is the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI).
Entrepreneurship Training
The Agency will provide entrepreneurship training to 50,000 youth and early adults who have the potential to start a business. Three levels of entrepreneurship training will be offered: basic, intermediate, and advanced. The training will be based on standardized, quality-assured packages in different locations nationwide. All training will be delivered using an experiential participatory approach conducive for adult learning and will also be district based and non-residential.
All advanced training participants will receive mentoring and coaching support, which encompasses guidance to prepare business plans, meet business registration and licensing requirements, and connect with input and output markets. Short duration internship, mentoring and guidance sessions would be arranged for some selected beneficiaries.
The Competitive Business Start-up Grants
The Business Start-up Grants will deploy financial support to selected youth who successfully undergo training up to the intermediate level. These grants will be available to individuals and self-formed groups, majority-owned by Ghanaians, with high potential to succeed in business, and operating in any of the non-resource-based sectors.
The start-up grants will be provided for the following:
- Purchase of machinery and equipment, or technology.
- Start-up business investments targeted at productivity and growth.
- Working capital, such as purchase of raw materials and consumables, and payment of salaries.
- Payment for technical advisory services, training, and subscriptions to platforms
- Payment for regulatory compliance, e.g., RGD, FDA registration and license, GSA certification.
- Start-ups seeking to provide essential goods that helps to mitigate against public health threats.
