At the recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in the Greater Accra Region, Tsonam Cleanse Akpeloo, Accra Regional Chairman of AGI, highlighted the need for Ghanaian industries to invest in workforce training and development.

Emphasizing the theme “Empowering Growth, Building a Strong Workforce for Tomorrow,” Akpeloo urged industries to open pathways for education, training, and skill enhancement for their workforce.

“As industries worldwide increasingly prioritize workforce development, we must follow suit. Ghanaian industries need to open avenues for education, training, and skills development,” Akpeloo stated. He noted that industries committed to upskilling and digital transformation are better positioned to succeed in today’s evolving sector.

A significant aspect of AGI’s strategy involves collaboration with educational institutions, government bodies, and vocational training centers. According to Akpeloo, these partnerships will help “bridge the gap between education and industry,” creating a workforce that is not only skilled but also adaptable and innovative. The AGI has taken concrete steps toward this goal, partnering with organizations like the Ghana Enterprises Agency, Mastercard Foundation, and Generations to launch a job fair. This fair will connect job seekers with member companies and highlight employment opportunities.

Additionally, AGI has introduced initiatives like the Visiting Embassies Entrepreneurship and Networking Event and the Entrepreneurship Knowledge Forum, both designed to promote skills development and industry networking. By fostering these connections and focusing on workforce training, AGI aims to build a stronger, more capable workforce that meets the demands of modern industry, driving sustainable growth and economic resilience in Ghana.

“It is a knowledge building platform that brings the most seasoned and successful business, organizational development and entrepreneurship aspects, research teams and business think tanks to share knowledge, ideas, innovations, concepts and principles essential to propel our business and organization to high heights.”
Tsonam Cleanse Akpeloo

Also, the AGI Industrial Familiarization Forum specifically designed for Accra executives and self-selected members to visit self-selected companies within the Accra region as part of efforts to connect with members to serve them better.

Mr Akpeloo urged the AGI members to actively participate in programmes. He said there were plans to expand the AGI Industrial Familiarization Tour to visit more organizations and companies, not only the large companies but also the small companies. “And we all have to understand that we are in this journey together. So there is always wisdom in coming together to do together. And if we as industrialists put our strength together, you realize that we can really build our industry,” he said.

Embracing Sustainability In Production Processes

Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, CEO of AGI, urged the members to embrace sustainability in their production processes so the businesses would continue to thrive.

“The whole idea is that whilst we are doing business, we are generating resources, we are making profits, we should do it in a sustainable way that will ensure that our businesses will continue to thrive in spite of all the challenges that we face and therefore we must live in harmony with the environment, we must live in harmony with the community and we must have an arrangement that helps our own people and the jobs we create to be sustainable.”
Tsonam Cleanse Akpeloo

Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah noted that the issues of sustainability had become very critical in the development discourse and companies not operating sustainably would find it difficult to even export because the European Union and other trading blocs were coming out with regulations that required following a certain principle and practice otherwise you cannot do serious business with them.

Mr Twum-Akwaboah said the Association continued to advocate for a good business environment for members and was constantly engaging policy makers, various government institutions and implementers of various programmes by government to ensure that the activities bring benefits and create a conducive environment for businesses to operate.

Michael Ekow Amoah, Deputy Director, Research and Development, Monitoring and Evaluation Ghana Cocoa Board, took members through the European Union Deforestation Regulation to enable them to prepare to meet that market requirement.

Mr Ekow Amoah thus said a key element of the EU Green Deal was a set of policies or initiatives aimed at reducing the EU footprints and global carbon emissions by 55% by 2030, when compared to 1990 levels and become carbon neutral by year 2050.

“So EUDR itself a set of market requirements. That’s why it is so important to you because if you enter into EU market, you definitely must understand and put in measures to meet it. So, it’s a set of markets and requirements that is using responsible consumption on the part of EU to influence carbon emission or EU contribution to global warming or global carbon emissions.”
Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboa