272 SMEs complete ILO SCORE Training with German Cooperation Sponsorship
With support from German Cooperation, 272 Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have benefited from the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme.
The SCORE training programme, which ran for six months with the aim of increasing SMEs’ productivity and resource efficiency, was signed off with a certification ceremony at the La Palm Beach Hotel in Accra on Friday, June 28, to mark the success and official closure of the programme.
SCORE is a global training programme that seeks to improve workplace organisation, cooperation, and safety in SMEs and promote resource-efficient and cleaner production.
SCORE combines practical classroom sessions with in-factory consulting and demonstrates the best international practises in the manufacturing and service sectors.
This ultimately leads to the growth of enterprises, job creation and economic development.
The SCORE training programme was 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 the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ), within the framework of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition".
In 2021, GIZ, signed a first grant agreement with the MDPI to train 60 SMEs with the SCORE methodology.
A second grant agreement was signed in August 2022 to train an additional 74 SMEs.
Given the high impacts observed in the last few years, the recently completed phase extended the SCORE programme to 272 additional SMEs and administrative regions where the programme hasn’t been implemented before, including Bono, Bono East, Northern, and Savannah Regions.
Speaking at the event, Team Leader Mr. John Duti from GIZ emphasized that small improvements matter: “Improving inventory management, optimizing water consumption, neatly organizing the workplace, ensuring the consequent utilization of protective equipment, listening to the feedback of customers and the concerns of co-workers – all these little things add up to big changes, and this is what SCORE seeks to achieve”.
Ms. Bernice Adjei, Director General of MDPI, expressed that she is “looking forward to the impact the newly trained enterprises will have on the Ghanaian economy as they apply international standards and other good practices in their operations for growth and sustainability”.
Present at the certification ceremony were representatives from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Ministry of Trade and Industries, the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Trade Unions, SCORE Implementing Partners (IPs) and selected enterprises.
About the Management Development and Productivity Institute
MDPI is a subvented agency under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR).
The institute was established on 26th October 1967 under a joint Ghana Government, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) project.
The MDPI replaced its forerunner, the National Productivity Centre (NPC), which had been established in June 1964. The institute was formally handed over to the government by UNDP and ILO in 1977 when the joint sponsorship ended.
MDPI promotes increased productivity in
both public and private organizations and contributes to the sustainable growth of the economy.
It achieves this through productivity improvement activities, management development programs and dissemination of information through research and publications.
The MDPI’s clients are drawn from Ghana and the West African sub-region including The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea. For more information, please visit www.mdpi.gov.gh.
About Invest for Jobs
Under the Invest for Jobs brand, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has put together a package of measures to support German, European and African companies in investment activities that have a high impact on employment in Africa.
The Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition" – the official title – offers comprehensive advice, contacts and financial support to overcome investment barriers.
The development objective is to team up with companies to create good jobs and improve working conditions and social protection in the eight African partner countries.
About GIZ
GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security.
We work with businesses, civil society actors, and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is our main commissioning party.
Currently, GIZ promotes sustainable development in Ghana via about 50 programmes and projects.
Our activities currently cover three priority areas: Energy and Climate, with a concentration on renewable energy and energy efficiency; Training and Sustainable Growth for Decent Jobs, and Peaceful and Inclusive Societies, which looks at good governance.