By Edward Acquah
Accra, Sept. 9, GNA – The Public Services Commission (PSC) has called for stronger collaboration among African countries to develop human capital and address emerging skills gaps driven by technological advancement.
Dr Stella Agyenim-Boateng, Vice Chairman of the PSC, said African countries must establish communities of practising experts to share knowledge and develop solutions to common human capital challenges.
She made the call during a briefing with journalists on Tuesday at the Ghana-Burkina Faso HR Café in Accra, being held on the theme: “Shaping the Future of Work: Human Capital, Artificial Intelligence, and Administrative Cross-Learning between Ghana and Burkina Faso.”
Dr Agyenim-Boateng said the conference had identified several common challenges between Ghana and Burkina Faso, including skills gaps, the need to harness existing human capital and the disconnect between academia and industry.
She said the proposed community of practising experts could help countries identify skills gaps, share best practices and explore how technology could be used to strengthen human capital development.
She also advocated an academia-practitioner sabbatical exchange programme to strengthen collaboration between universities and industry and ensure that academic programmes benefited from practical experiences.
“It is not about a blame game; it must be about how we harness our efforts to build the gap,” Dr Agyenim-Boateng said.
She noted that resistance to technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), should be addressed through education, awareness and continuous training rather than allowing workers to feel threatened by technological changes.
Organisation should create a sense of ownership and belonging among employees while recognising and celebrating their achievements to encourage them to embrace change, she added.
Professor Victor Kwame Agyeman, Chairman of the PSC, said Ghana’s public sector reforms were focused on digitalisation, institutional reform, stronger data systems and financial accountability.
He said Ghana was working towards placing public servants on an integrated Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS), linking employee information to identification, social security and other relevant records.
Prof Agyeman said the system also supported performance management, absence monitoring, succession planning and employee profiling, while electronic performance management was being introduced to improve efficiency.
Ghana was also piloting a system to link pay to performance and productivity, with the objective of rewarding public servants according to their level of performance, he noted.
Mr Adama Windketa Ouedraogo, Head of Human Resources Department at IAMGOLD Essakane SA, urged HR managers to establish effective feedback mechanisms to create conducive working environments and improve employee performance.
“Learn to know your employees because every employee is unique,” he said.
The 10th edition and first international edition of the HR Café, the flagship annual Human Resource Management forum of the Government of Burkina Faso, is being held in Accra from September 6 to 13, 2026.
The conference, hosted by the Office of the President of Ghana in partnership with the Government of Burkina Faso, has brought together about 300 participants from the two countries and selected partner institutions.
It is focusing on human capital development, AI, digital transformation, institutional strengthening and the future of work.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Edward Acquah