Analysis Of Bilingual Job Vacancies Advertised In Ghanaian Labour Market: Key Employability Requirements And Curriculum/Policy Implications
Abstract
Proficiency in the French language in Ghana is becoming the more crucial as a result of the country’s proximity to Francophone neighbours and expanding socio-economic relations with francophone countries. The role of the French language in the Ghanaian economy is echoed in educational reforms and views expressed by prominent personalities, highlighting the need to train bilingual professionals across all sectors of the economy to prepare citizens for bilingual jobs in Ghana, and around the globe. Based on the Sustainable Employability (SE) Framework, this paper explored the employability requirements for bilingual jobs advertised in the Ghanaian labour market with the aim of providing relevant data for decision-making by learners, graduate training institutions, curriculum planners and government. The study was based on an in-depth analysis of job advertisements in two national dailies, namely, the Daily Graphic Newspaper and the Graphic Business using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. The results showed that the most demanded academic qualification was the Master’s Degree representing 41.3%. contrary to earlier studies suggesting the Bachelor’s Degree. Essential skills required of bilingual job seekers included profession-specific skills (16.4%), Computer and IT skills and Communication and media skills (10.8%). The study concluded that to occupy bilingual job positions, one must acquire 21st Century Skills and profession-specific competences in addition to internal languages, particularly French and English. The study recommended the introduction of bilingual professional programmes into graduate training institutions, and the provision of targeted government scholarships for bilingual professionals to attend immersion and internship programmes in French-speaking countries to improve their proficiency.
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