The Department of Labour and Human Resource Studies (DOLAHRS), of the School for Development Studies, has held a three-day curriculum development workshop.
        
The workshop held with sponsorship from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was aimed at developing Masters and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees as well as short courses for the Department.

Remark my Head of Department

In her remarks at the workshop, the Head, DOLAHRS, Dr. Angela Akorsu, noted that the upgrade of the Institute for Development into a School with four departments including DOLAHRS meant that the Department had to develop its own programmes. She indicated that though some of the programmes were already in existence, it had become necessary to run them at the postgraduate level. “We used to run certificate and Diploma programmes in Labour Studies but since we have this new department, we intend to upgrade them to the postgraduate level to respond to the needs of Labour Movement” she explained

Dr. Akorsu indicated a consultative workshop was held in March 2019 which brought together stakeholders from Ghana and other countries as well as the ILO to deliberate on areas to be considered for the proposed programmes. “It is out of the outcome of the consultative workshop that we are working towards developing the curricula for our programmes” she noted.

ILO Representative

A representative of ILO, Dr. David Dorkenoo, noted that his organisation was supporting DOHLARS to develop programmes to build the capacities of Trade Unions and their leaders as well as people involved in policy making on labour issues so that the working environment would be enhanced. He indicated that the programme would help trade union leaders and stakeholders to discuss, negotiate and influence government policies relating to workers.  “If we don’t build their capacities, they can go to the table with limited knowledge. It is not anything that they can say they are going on strike; they should be able to argue their case by putting out facts and figures to support their demands,” he averred.

Dr. Dorkenoo noted that unenlightened leaders of labour unions and workers would result in chaos, misunderstanding and frequent strike actions which had the tendency to cause instability in the country. He further noted that “ If  the labour unions are not well educated, businesses will come and invest then take all the money away and at the end of the day, there will be poverty which is also not the best because the country will not advance” he advised. 

Provost's Comments

The Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, Prof. Francis Eric Amuquandoh called for flexibility in the design of the programmes especially the short courses to attract most of the target group. “You need to target individuals, workers and trade union members as well as the general public who are interested in developing their capacities in Labour Studies,” he added. 

Prof. Amuquandoh reminded participants of the workshop to bear in mind that their focus should be on enlightening employers to foster harmony between union leaders and employees. “We must adopt human centered agenda and invest in building capacity through lifelong learning” he noted. He implored participants to consider the gender dimension of the programmes and courses and also learn best practices from institutions in other countries running the labour programme.

The workshop brought together lecturers from the Department and other stakeholders on the field. 

The School of Business has presented awards to 308 students who excelled in their academic work for the 2017/2018 academic year at the 2019 Deans Awards Ceremony.
    
Each of the awardees obtained a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.6 and above at the end of the academic year.

Recognition of High Performing  Students

  
Speaking at the function, the Dean of the School of Business, Prof. John G. Gatsi, noted that the awards ceremony allowed the School to identify and recognise high performing students at the end of each academic year.  He indicated that the event served as motivation to recipients of the awards to work harder to maintain the high performance and also encourage non-recipients to aspire to on the Dean’s list in the subsequent year.
“As a School, we are not only interested in high performing students by CGPA of 3.6 and above but also skills development of students as well as entrepreneurial initiatives being undertaken by our students,” he noted. 

Prof. Gatsi noted that the School through its Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprise Development (CESED) was working to identify students who had started some innovative ventures for proper recognition to encourage others. He added that those who had learnt additional skills on their own or through the School’s Business Incubator would also be accorded such honours. “ We accept the challenge that a Business School graduate must be conversant with core content, have the right attitude and skills that respond to the requirements of fast-changing job environment” he stressed.

In terms of the awards, Prof. Gatsi said the focus was on the level of awardees indicating that “We will be awarding the most improved students from B. Com Finance and BCom Accounting programmes sponsored by Chartered Institute of Management Accountants”.  He further stated that students whose CGPAs were at Second Class Upper level when they were in level 200 had improved to First Class in level 300.

Motivational Speech by Alumni

Sharing his experience at the function, an alumnus of the School, Mr. Felix Quaicoe, entreated the students to stay focused and be committed to their studies. He said there would be obstacles as they strived to succeed in their studies and face the realities in life. “Life is short and full of complexities but never give, failure should serve as a stepping stone to success”

Mr. Quicoe urged them to identify some of their lecturers as mentors who would guide them in their studies and also offer the needed advice to help them succeed. He commended the School of Business for producing a greater number of first class students. “ I believe there’s something leadership is doing to produce this huge number of high performing students,” he noted.