Job Bank hits ground running with wealth creation

Barely a month after inauguration, the Ghana Job Bank has hit the ground running with a programme to create thousands of jobs.

Through the initiative, the youth, including university graduates, are being trained in digital marketing to enable them to take advantage of opportunities provided by the Internet to market and make some income by selling goods and services using various forms of digital media.

The training programme, which is supported by the UAE African Mentoring Development Consortium, began with 100 university graduates who had completed their national service.

They had already undergone two days of orientation and were due to enrol in three months of training in digital marketing at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).

Speaking to the Daily Graphic in his office in Accra last Friday, the Executive Director of the EON3 Group, Mr Richard Ofori-Atta, said the trainees would be paid stipends while on training.

He noted that his outfit planned to train about 78,000 youth in digital marketing by 2022.

Launched on May 3, 2018, the Ghana Job Bank, which is a subsidiary of the EON3 Group, is a social media and digital marketing initiative that seeks to create employment opportunities for the youth in Ghana.

It has former President John Agyekum Kufuor as a patron.

Some captains of industry and politicians who have contributed positively to the socio-economic development of the country were awarded at the inaugural event.

They included Dr Kwaku Oteng, Dr Thomas Kofi Aboagye Dompem, Dr Christian Agyemang, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Dr Kofi Koduah Sarpong, Dr Kwaku Frimpong, Dr Kwame Kyei, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, Dr Nii Kotei Dzani, Madam Kate Quartey-Papafio, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Mr Andrews Kwofie, Mr Boris Baidoo and Mr Edward Effah.

Schedule

The digital marketing training is being done in batches of 100, with each batch going through two days of orientation at the offices of the Ghana Job Bank before continuing at the CEIBS for three months.

Explaining the type of employment available to the trainees, Mr Ofori-Atta said the initiative had a franchise of products which it marketed on two Internet platforms.

“All they (trainees) have to do is to upload their content on the platforms and they will be paid according to the number of content they upload,” he said.

Ghana, best place to make $1 million

Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that creativity was a major focus of the initiative. “We train them to be creative in order to monetise their creativity,” he explained.

He said, “Ghana is the best place to make your first one million dollars .”

He, however, called for measures to address the high cost of Internet data in the country, which served as a disincentive to the youth who wanted to enter the venture.

Platforms

Ghana has a fast-growing Internet user population with the current figure estimated at about eight million and still growing by the day.

This provides opportunities for digital marketers as companies move to sell their brands online.

According to Mr Ofori-Atta, the Ghana Job Bank was currently operating two platforms, namely health and open data.

Under the health platform, the executive director said his outfit had secured a franchise with some foreign companies to sell their products through a network marketing system.

He urged the young people to take up the initiative with all seriousness in order to make a living for themselves rather than look up to the government for unavailable jobs.

“Through digital marketing, you can sit in the comfort of your room to make money,” he stated.