Ghana to attract foreign professionals

Explore Abroad and Africa, a South African non-governmental organisation, has initiated moves to attract foreign professionals into key areas in the country.

"Ghana as a developing country needs the infusion and exchange of technical skills and manpower resources of the developed world to accelerate its growth.

"This calls for networking and establishment of collaboration and partnership," Ms Lezelle Botha, Explore Director, told Journalists in Accra on Friday.

Ms Botha commended Mrs Cecilia Bannerman, outgoing Minister of Employment and Manpower Development, for her commitment and contribution to the creation of an enabling environment to reduce unemployment in the country.

She said key skilled and non-skilled professionals would be identified, processed and packaged for export to Europe, Asia, Far East, United State and other African countries whilst other professionals in demand in the country would be imported.

This would be done through the Ministry and its local counterparts, Youth Educational Rural International (YERI).

The first group of 100 Ghanaians would be sent to the United States as part of a pilot programme by June.

Ms Botha said through such collaborative efforts, Ghana and other developing and developed countries would re-distribute their professionals equitably; reduce unemployment and generate foreign exchange for the development of infrastructure to retrain local manpower skills.

She said working holiday programmes would also be developed for students during vacations for a period of three months.

YERI's Director, Mr David Kumah said the exchange programme would also be used to sell the country's tourism potentials.