90 SMEs to benefit from MDPI & “Invest for Jobs” ILO SCORE training programme

As many as 90 Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) will soon benefit from the Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme of the International Labour Organization (ILO)

The programme is being implemented by the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), a sub-vented Agency under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), with support from ‘Invest for Jobs’, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, being implemented by GIZ.

Together with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), implementation of the SCORE project is aimed at boosting growth and productivity of SMEs in order to create jobs.  

Ahead of the training, stakeholders including representatives from ministries of Employment and Labour Relations, Trade and Industry as well as Development Partners and SME associations, met to officially launch the project and secure one another’s cooperation for success.

Team Leader of Invest for Jobs, Mr. John Duti, said “one of the key objectives of the Invest for jobs Programme is to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of Ghanaian SMEs, as well as their job-creating capacities. We are therefore excited about this strong partnership with the MDPI and the ILO in jointly achieving these objectives”.

He further added that owing to the huge contribution of SMEs to Ghana’s GDP, the need to make them locally and internally competitive cannot be overemphasized. He stressed the need to strengthen their resilience against external shocks, especially in times of crisis as currently with the COVID pandemic. 

The Director General of  MDPI, Mr. Kweku Odame-Takyi said, “The SCORE programme speaks to the government’s industrialization agenda as it seeks to create a generation of productivity awareness operatives, develop cordial management and staff relationship as well as ensure work place safety and security since these are some of the expected outcomes of SCORE.

MDPI joined the SCORE project in 2013, the programme has trained 250 enterprises many of which have experience increased productivity and profits. As the ILO exits sponsorship, BMZ has gracefully joined to provide the needed financial support and for which MDPI and its implementing partners (IPs) are most grateful.

He added that ‘’as the government of Germany is currently hosting our President, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, I think our cooperation is well grounded and in line with the existing cooperation between the Republic of Ghana and Federal Republic of Germany’’.

He promised that the MDPI and its implementation Partners were committed to delivering this Programme to promote enterprise competitiveness, sustainable decent jobs of Small and Medium Enterprises in Ghana.

For his part, the National Coordinator for the ILO in Ghana, Mr. Samuel Asiedu indicated that the ILO and GIZ had had many successful development cooperation projects in Ghana and globally. So he had high expectations of the collaboration with MDPI.

He believed MDPI would show leadership and would work seamlessly with the other implementing partners (SCORE Training Solutions Ghana, Sekondi Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industries and HoCo Consult) to implement the project successfully. The goal is to build enterprises that would do business globally, create jobs and improve the economy of Ghana. We have no doubts they would perform creditably and sustain this partnership with GIZ into the future.

He urged the implementing partners to us use this opportunity to further strengthen the bond that exists between the Government of Ghana and Germany, Switzerland and Norway.  

SCORE is an ILO global programme seeking to improve productivity and working conditions in SMEs with practical classroom sessions and in-factory consulting. It demonstrates best international practices in the manufacturing and service sectors and helps SMEs to participate in global supply chains. This is expected to lead to growth of enterprises, create jobs and improve the economy. Funded by State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), SCORE was first introduced in Ghana in 2011.

In all, 60 growth-oriented SMEs with high job-creation potential, will receive the SCORE training and another 30 will be trained in Business Continuity and Recovery. 

Interested SMEs who satisfy these conditions can download application forms at   www.mdpi.gov.gh, and submit via [email protected].