Ghana needs to build up a strong skillful personnel base to cash in on economic fortunes Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) industry presented and to compete well with sector giants like India and Sri Lanka.

Dr Osei K. Darkwa, President of the Ghana Telecom University (GTUC) who made the recommendation added that the development of critical mass of BPO skilled personnel to manage areas including customer service support, telemarketing and data entry was critical if the country would survive in the industry.

He was speaking on Tuesday at a ceremony organized to open up eight-week Information Technology Enabled Services and Business Processing Outsourcing (ITES/BPO) Work Readiness Programme in Accra.

The objective of the programme which is underway is to provide ITES/BPO skills to 150 poor and vulnerable youth to enable them gain employment in the growing industry.

The training, which is sponsored by Rockefeller Foundation and technically supported by GTUC, is expected to focus on providing the participating youth with skills in data entry and document as well as entrepreneurial and soft skills to help the beneficiaries gain employment in BPO companies to digitize some selected government departments and agencies’ manual records.

The programme under the auspices of the ITES Secretariat of the Ministry of Communication (MoC).

Dr Darkwa said GTUC was proud to provide tools and hands-on-training for the participants adding “we have the expertise, the infrastructure and personnel to undertake the training.”

He expressed confidence that the training would equip the participants to unleash the energy and creativity embedded within them adding, “In this knowledge-based economy, this training will make you a major player of the global economy system.”

Dr Robert A. Baffour, Vice President of GTUC, expressed dissatisfaction in bad working attitude of most employees who worked lackadaisically solely because they thought the business did not belong to them so they could afford to care less.

In contrast to that bad perception, he cautioned them to excel to improve themselves and the country.

“Wherever you find yourself, you need to put in all the energy as if the business or the office you work is yours. Own the work place.”

Patrick M. Osman, a Ghanaian but a Libyan returnee told the Ghana News Agency that he was hopeful the training opportunity would enable him adopt a professional and ethical attitude towards his work to improve productivity.

He said he had not had the opportunity to attain tertiary education in any discipline and therefore relished the chance offered him at GTUC.

Mr Osman said though he had spent fruitless years labouring in Libya, the ITES, BPO training programme would help him gain and reverse the fruitless years lost.

Mr Paul Panzy Wormade, an unemployed graduate of Ho Polytechnic was grateful to GTUC, ITES Secretariat of the MoC for the privilege.

He said he was determined to put in his best and was optimistic he would secure a job after the training.