Each year, universities in Ghana churn out thousands of graduates to the job market with the hope that these graduates will find employment that will help support their respective livelihoods.
But, according to data from the Institute of Statistics, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, only 10 percent of graduates find jobs after their first year of completing school.
The graduate unemployment phenomenon has been the concern of many individuals, institutions, and organizations and thus, in order to help curb it, some have initiated measures that will create a platform for university graduates to find jobs when they leave school.
At the University of Cape Coast, the Confucius Institute recently held a maiden edition of a recruitment job fair on the university’s campus with the aim of creating an avenue for not just University students to find internship opportunities but for University graduates to gain employment in Chinese enterprises.
Various Chinese business tycoons that took part in the job fair included Keda Ghana Ceramics Company Limited, Oraimo, Caitec Delta Ltd, China Railway Construction Port Bureau Group Ghana Company Limited, Yantai International Company Limited Ghana, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited, and Wire Mesh Manufacturing Limited among others.
At the fair, details of the students and job seekers were taken for possible employment avenues and positions in the Chinese business magnates where some Ghanaian employees work.
Speaking to the media, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at UCC, Professor Ou Yamei explained that the job fair was a good platform for students and graduates who could speak the Chinese language to find ready jobs.
Explaining how the idea of the job fair came about she said, “As a Chinese director, a lot of enterprises called me and came to our Confucius and asked if we can introduce some students or graduates to them: because they nearly need people who can speak Chinese as they need accountants, they need marketing. And then while in reality a lot of students and graduates say, as far as I know, they couldn’t find a job and they said, why can’t we just do this kind of thing?”
She said Confucius Institute – UCC was committed to empowering young people to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic and sustainable development of the nation through sustainable jobs.
While George Agyemang Wallace, a final year student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Chinese described the job fair as one that brought jobs to the doorstep of students, Nana Yaa Akyeabea Appau, a third-year BA Arts student said it was a great opportunity for her to secure a job before she completes school.
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Source: Rosemond Asmah/ATLFMNEWS
