Africa Skills Hub (ASH) in collaboration with International Labour Organization (ILO) has completed a three-day digital skills training in social media marketing for 30 traditional caterers in Accra.
The programme is under the auspices of Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) to upskill and develop competencies in digital technologies.
The goal was to build the capacity of GHATOF members, the umbrella body of the various private trade associations in social media marketing to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the sector as a way of ensuring business continuity with their presence online.
Ms. Vanessa Lerato Phala, ILO Country Office Director for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and liaison for ECOWAS, commended the participants for going through the training and entreated them to put the newly acquired digital skills to use for the enhancement of the profitability of their businesses.
On his part, Mr. Frank Kwasi Adetor National Project Coordinator, ILO SKILL UP Project acknowledged that the training was ILO’s contribution towards business recovery for operators within the tourism and hospitality sector which was among the sectors most hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted also that the training which targeted women was part of the inclusion agenda of the SKILL UP project.
Mr. Daniel Amoako Antwi, Executive Director, Africa Skills Hub said, “The most important currency in a post-COVID era for micro, small medium enterprises is the need to embrace and go DIGITAL in every way.”
As digital technologies have rapidly transformed the global economy, raised income, and reduced poverty, beneficiaries are expected to use the knowledge gained and skills acquired to apply the underlying principles of using social media to effectively engage with the target audience, and formulate an action plan that combines the vital social media networks and tools to help them expand businesses, he stated.
Mr. Emmanuel Frimpong, Ghana Tourism Federation Executive Secretary said, “The past three days have been an eye opener for most of us because the informal sector which plays a key role in tourism hospitality space has not been given the needed attention and opportunity to partake in the digital market world.”
The SKILL UP/Global Programme on Skills and Lifelong Learning is implemented by the Skills and Employability Branch of the ILO and funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) in collaboration with the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) Ghana.
