Speakers at the MTN Business Executive Breakfast Meeting have called for a change in thinking around the world of work and talent management if Ghana is to have a sustainable employment landscape in the future.
According to the speakers, unless organizations and employers take steps to match the changing employment scene, Ghana and its talent risk being left behind by a rapidly evolving global employment market.
Dr. Esi Ansah, Executive Director at the Center for Leadership at Ashesi University, said that if Ghana is to develop, there is a need “to look at talent in the context of an ecosystem – the home, school, and the workplace.”
She advised employers to recognize that the quality of graduates from universities has declined. Rather than lamenting the situation, employers should provide more opportunities for internships to allow the younger generation to learn.
She said, “When you have internships that bring young people into your organization early, don’t just make it, ‘Come so we send you to make photocopies.’ Come, and there’s a learning component. So you come in for an internship programme, and there’s a learning academy where you are learning.”This practice, she reiterated, is in the interest of the organization and society as a whole.
She further stated that “if we want to see how industry can play a role in building capacity for themselves and for the market, then we need to be intentional.
“Don’t see it as helping ‘them.’ See it as helping yourself,” she said.
The Acting Chief Human Resource Officer at MTN Ghana, Abdallah Ibrahim, said there is a need for Ghana [and its leaders] to be intentional about the development of the country.
He lamented the fractured and haphazard approach to development that has characterized the governance and developmental space in the country over the last few decades.
“We have to do proper planning and own it end to end. Look at the change of government, for example. One government will do something, then they’ll abandon it. Another will come and start something else. If we continue this way, it’s going to be more difficult for us to compete,” he said to the audience.
Managing Director, Unilever Ghana, Chris-Wulff Caesar, said that even though the world of work has become globally competitive, with many businesses looking across the pond to recruit talent, local businesses do not seem ready to acknowledge this change.
He pointed to the reluctance of many local businesses to provide flexible working hours to their staff. He admitted the huge impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had in forcing many businesses to start operating flexibly and wondered if businesses are ready to receive young people (popularly called Gen Zs) who have been cited by many employers around the globe as lacking traditional work ethics.
He wondered how many businesses are willing to create an environment that will allow talent to flourish and be seen, even as they clamor to get the best talent in their employ.
Caesar, therefore, advised businesses and employers to emulate the best practices out there and commit to them.
By SELORM GBORBIDZI, Accra
