Ghana is providing training for skilled jobs in the textile industry. Participants will take part in various courses including digital pattern making and grading, industrial engineering, quality assurance, and monitoring skills. They will learn on modern training equipment. The courses will not only provide training and qualifications for staff at the companies, they will also improve job prospects for young Ghanaians. Higher productivity and better training for skilled workers give the companies more scope to increase their employees’ wages. The incomes of staff at local firms are thus set to rise by around 20 per cent. The aim is to create 1200 new jobs within three years.

Low wages make African countries attractive business locations compared with their Asian competitors. Although Ghana has experience in textile and clothing production for the regional market, it lacks export expertise. The textile industry in Ghana has been struggling to meet the demands of the market due to the smuggling in of unregistered and cheap textiles from other countries. The high operational cost has also led to the shutdown of some of the textile companies, which has robbed many Ghanaians of their jobs. The textile sector which had a workforce of nearly 30,000 barely has 3,000 now.