CIHRM honours Education Minister - Grants him Honorary Fellow status

The President of the Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management Ghana (CIHRM), Dr Edward Kwapong, has conferred an Honorary Fellow status on the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.

The conferral was done on the sidelines of the 15th graduation ceremony of the CIHRM Ghana last Thursday in Accra.

Dr Kwapong explained that the status of Fellow is the highest level to which a member the HR professional institute or anyone in corporate/industry could aspire.

The President of CIHRM Ghana congratulated the graduands on their sacrifice and self-denial that they went through and cautioned that the certificate was only a licence to the theatre, adding, “your continued stay, progression and elevation at your workplace will depend on how well you apply this certificate to the demands of your work at the workplace”.

Professionalism

Dr Kwapong urged the new graduands to go out there to practise as professionals rather than academics, advising them that while industry admired excellent grammar, it was more interested in practical solutions.

The CEO of the CIHRM Ghana, Dr Ebenezer Ofori Agbettor, added that as a Fellow or Honorary Fellow, “you should be able to hold your own and make pronouncement on any situation in the profession that you may be confronted.”  

He revealed that the ministry had done so much on many fronts, especially in relation to the institute obtaining a charter status and the Legislative Instrument (LI), which matured on November 28, 2023, after it was laid in Parliament 21 days ago with the number LI 2474.

Graduating students

The Chairman of the Professional Certification Board presented 316 graduands, consisting of 58 men and 258 women, making it the second largest congregation that the institute had ever presented.

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Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo, the Okuapehene

He hinted that this year, a total of 1,125 students wrote the exams across the examination centres in Kumasi, Ho, Takoradi, Accra and for the first time, in Sunyani, explaining that, “these numbers represent candidates who wrote in our January and July Examinations in 2023”. 

World of work

Responding, Dr Adutwum, who was the guest speaker of the ceremony, underscored the importance of relevant university programmes in tackling the prevailing unemployment challenges confronting the nation.

Addressing the theme for the occasion: “Making tertiary and professional education count in the world of work”, Dr Adutwum said higher education institutions were integral to empowering individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in today's competitive job landscape.

“When the students come out, they have to come out as people who are qualified for the world of work,” he stated. 

Statistics on unemployment

The Ghana Statistical Service’s Annual Household and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) revealed that unemployment rate rose from 13.4 per cent to 13.9 per cent (1.8 million people) in the second quarter of 2022.

Only about 10 per cent of all university graduates gain employment in public service annually, according to the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA).

Acknowledging the rapidly evolving nature of industries and the emergence of new job sectors, Dr Adutwum stressed the need for educational programmes that adapted to those changes.

He emphasised that fostering collaboration between academia and industry was crucial to ensure that students were equipped with the practical skills demanded by the workforce.