Thousands of graduates have, over the past two weeks, besieged the head office of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Accra to submit their applications to be enlisted into two state institutions.
By the close of on Tuesday, the GCGL head office alone had received over 10,000 applications to fill various positions in a state institution as advertised on page eight of the Thursday, August 4, 2016 edition of the Daily Graphic.
The applicants, mostly unemployed, are mainly diploma, higher national diploma (HND), degree and WASSCE holders.
The Daily Graphic, in its Wednesday, August 3 and Thursday, August 4 editions, advertised that applications were invited from candidates to fill various positions, including senior and junior officers, human resource and administrative manager, executive assistant or public affairs manager, procurement and stores manager and accounts officers.
Meanwhile, similar adverts had been placed in other newspapers for similar positions.
Desperation
Most of the applicants claimed they had been waiting for such an opportunity, since they were unemployed and had stayed at home for a number of years since completing school.
“Even though I’m currently working as a mobiliser with a bank, I think this will be a nice opportunity for me, since my position is not commensurate with my qualification,” Christopher Logan told the Daily Graphic.
“A friend of mine sent a shot of the advertisement to me on WhatsApp and I quickly applied to try my luck,” one applicant said.
At the front desk of the GCGL were two boxes into which the applicants were expected to put their applications according to the position for which they had applied.
“Sometimes when the applicants come, they have no clue about the advert and so they bother us about information. Some even ask for your contact number, while others want to give you some money in appreciation of the kind gesture we have extended to them, but we decline,” Ms Yvonne Ansah at the front desk said.
One significant thing is the fact that some parents came from different parts of the country to submit the applications on behalf of their children.
‘We need jobs’
In an interview, an applicant, Mohammed Awudu Nasir, said a lot of his mates had applied because they had no jobs at the moment.
“I completed National Service three years ago but I’ve no employment. I think this will be a nice opportunity,” Paul Amoah stated.
“I recently completed my National Service after my HND at the Accra Polytechnic but I’ve not been engaged afterwards,” another said.
Unemployment scary
A source at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations told the Daily Graphic that the situation was a true reflection of the unemployment rate in the country.
According to the source, it was possible that those two institutions needed just a handful of employees, but due to the lack of employment in the country, many graduates had applied.
“This should be a wake-up call to the government to act with dispatch, since a lot of the youth are crying for jobs,” it added.
Sign up here to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana, Africa. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
