A group of African Human Resource (HR) and Information Technology experts in the diaspora is storming Accra to lend their expertise and share knowledge with conference delegates attending Ghana’s biggest career event dubbed, Brighter Futures 2010 . The summit taking place from July 8-10, 2010 is a major part of Brighter Futures 2010 and will be under the theme, ”Developing a Skilled Work Force for Africa”.

Leading this delegation will be Professor Theo Veldsman, Independent Peoples Effectiveness Consultant and Human Resource Professor at the University of Johannesburg who is a keynote speaker at the conference. Drawing from his vast experience in industry and academia, Professor Veldsman will speak on *“Transformational Leadership-Building Winning Teams”. *

Ghanaian-born Senior Lecturer at the London Metropolitan University and Course Leader for MSc in Computer Systems Auditing, Philip Nukpe will also deliver a paper at this major convention of Ghanaian and African business leaders who identify Human Capital as a vital key to corporate success and HR professionals, who want to learn, add value and network. Presenting the topic *“Harnessing IT Skills at the Work Place”*, Philip Nukpe revealed, “IT skills in the workforce have been a problem of concern to both businesses and government. This is because studies have shown that the workforce lacks various IT skills needed for businesses to be competitive.” **

He stressed, “However, even in the UK, the workforce has fallen behind other industrialised nations in the preparation and enhancement of IT skills. Such lack of IT skills has led to one of the many reasons why companies have turned to outsourcing to meet the IT skill-set gap. In recent years the UK government for instance, has engaged with businesses and educational institutions to find ways of addressing the lack of IT skills in the workforce. My presentation at Brighter Futures 2010 therefore attempts to explore the various ways to identify, extract, connect and manage the essential IT skills needed by a workforce to effectively perform its functions in order to be a reckoning force amongst its competitors.”

At Brighter Futures 2010, there will be a special workshop for organisations and multi-national corporations seeking to beef their work force with foreign-trained Ghanaian talent as well as Ghanaian professionals in the diaspora wanting jobs back home.

Other African speakers from the diaspora at the conference are Lisa Ashton (CEO of Bioss South Africa and a top Industrial Psychologist); Marieme Jamme (a Senegalese-born, London-based social entrepreneur, international speaker and Group CEO of SpotOne Global Solutions); Rosie Ebe-Arthur(Head of HR, eProcess, the Ecobank Group, who has worked in senior roles for some UK firms); Anita Wiafe(Founder of an international HR consultancy, with headquarters in London); Tracie Annan(Training Manager Morrissons Contractors, UK).

Some other topics at the conference are *“Tapping Ghanaian Skills in the Diaspora for National Development” “Rebranding Africa through Its Human Capital”, “The Role of HR as a Business Partner”, “Attracting and Retaining the Best Talent”, “Managing Succession Planning”* and more.

A spokesman of the organisers, Occupational Management Limited added, “We are very thankful to all our speakers coming down to lead discussions, network and strategize solutions to help develop African and Ghanaian Human Capital as it is crucial in organisational or national success. The session will also be addressed by an A-list of Ghanaian-based experts led by Nana Sackey, Managing Partner of Deloitte and Touché Ghana and other international experts such as Geoff Kirkwood, Group CEO of global talent company, Lifestyle Architecture making presentations. “

African Repatriation, a jobsite for Africans returning back home, is a partner of Brighter Futures 2010 exhibition. James Young, Director of African Repatriation says, “ With many skilled Africans currently working overseas we recognized the need for a website dedicated to providing the latest job industry news and specialist articles, for Africans thinking about re-locating back to their home nation.”

Our vision is simple-to help people who share the same goal to return home. So, we set about building an engaging community that provides interactive tools that can unite like-minded individuals, which can help to empower a sustainable Africa.”

Brighter Futures 2010 Exhibition will also provide the platform for recruiting organisations, HR solution providers such as software providers, recruitment agencies and training organisations like Bioss South Africa to showcase their job and volunteering opportunities, HR solutions and training programmes to over 10,000 attendees made up of graduates, jobseekers, National Service Personnel, mid career executives, etc.

Some partners and sponsors of Brighter Futures 2010 include *Modern Ghana, African Repatriation, JobServe Africa, The Ghanaian Journal, Africa News, Joblinks and Bvents.*

For more information about sponsorship, conference and exhibitor registration, visit http://BrighterFutures4Africa.comor email: brighterfutures@hr-oml.co.uk or call 024250992/ 0264981426 (Ghana) or 08447362722 (UK).