In order to create a more trained workforce for the labor market, the German government has promised to keep funding technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Ghana.
As Germany seeks to accept 400,000 new foreign workers per year for the labor market, the German government is optimistic that aiding in the improvement of the quality and quantity of a skilled workforce in Ghana will significantly raise the number of trained workers who can benefit from the severe labor shortage in that country.
At a special business session hosted by the Ghanaian-German Economic Association (GGEA) in Accra last Wednesday, German Ambassador to Ghana Daniel Krull remarked that the lack of competent labor has become a nightmare for companies in Germany.
"It is now widely acknowledged that Germany has to do a lot to entice more competent individuals who will be open to or interested in considering relocating to and working in Germany.
The German government and the German Embassy in Ghana will both be working on it in the coming months, he continued.
He said that to make up for the predicted 400,000 skilled foreign workers shortage each year, German industry required qualified manpower.
Therefore, Mr. Krull stated, "there is a severe shortage of qualified personnel across industries in all sectors of the German economy."
Immigration law
Mr. Krull said that the German government was making serious efforts to change its immigration policy in order to draw in more foreigners who would profit from it.
He said that importing talented immigrants to fill critical vacancies in the country was the main way Germany could deal with the issue.
According to Mr. Krull, there is a significant opportunity for qualified, skilled Ghanaian labor to live and work in Germany, given that 100 Ghanaians acquire visas each year to work in Germany.
The envoy mentioned that the German government was of the opinion that properly managed migration may help Ghana's economy grow.
He clarified that Germany was one of the main sponsors of Ghana's TVET program and was more determined to assist it going forward.
"In order to develop a more competent workforce, we will further enhance our interaction with TVET institutes and technical universities in Ghana.
Given that we work hard to develop more trained Ghanaian laborers, he continued, "We do not believe that this is about the risk of brain drain."
In order to help establish an atmosphere that would foster growth, Stephen Antwi, president of the GGEA, called for increased cooperation between the government and industry.
He said that the COVID-19 outbreak and the Russia-Ukraine war had presented a lot of difficulties for German companies operating in the nation.
Mr. Antwi said that the government must be able to take action to improve the current situation facing businesses.
"Regardless of how you look at it, the status of enterprises today is not particularly positive; there are problems and obstacles that we think can be overcome.
The GGEA president added, "Although the environment in which we operate is difficult, we look to the future with a great deal of hope and expectation and with the belief that businesses and the government can chart a better course that would lead to prosperity."
The venue
The forum, a project of the association, consists of a number of discussions on certain subjects with the goal of influencing public policy in favor of business.
The interactive forum, dubbed "CEOs' time with the ambassador and the minister," brought together business leaders from German and Ghanaian companies as well as other private sector organizations to discuss challenges they face and, more importantly, to look at opportunities.
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