Sightsavers Ghana hosted a two-day training workshop aimed at strengthening the capacity of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to advocate for the adoption of a national employment equity policy.
The workshop held in Accra on November 10 and 11, 2025, brought together various OPDs to align strategies and develop robust advocacy plans, particularly in the context of the ongoing Ready for Inclusive Sustainable Employment and Entrepreneurship (RISE/E) project.
The RISE/E project is a major initiative under the Futuremakers programme, the umbrella project funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation. This project was designed in alignment with global mandates, specifically the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which focuses on economic empowerment for PWDs globally.
Mohammed Abdul-Razak, Social Inclusion and Advocacy Manager at Sightsavers, explained that the training focused on reviewing the relevant national policy framework on equitable employment, a policy that was developed following a market assessment in Ghana.
Policy Advocacy and Project Pathways
Mr. Razak noted that the employment equity policy, which aims to bridge the employment gap for PWDs in Ghana, has been delayed due to a change in government. The workshop was crucial for aligning advocacy strategies with the current administration’s policies to facilitate engagement with the Minister for Labour.
“The policy is interlinked because we need to create that policy environment that makes it efficient and effective to uptake skilled persons with disabilities into the job markets and also give them the opportunity to create their own businesses,” Mr. Razak stated.
The RISE/E project, which was launched in the fourth quarter of 2024, has successfully implemented three cohorts and is preparing to enroll a fourth. The project operates through two distinct pathways:
1. Entrepreneurship: Led by Challenges Ghana, this pathway supports micro-businesses, helping young persons establish, scale, and stabilise their ventures to promote sustainable job creation.
2. Employability: Led by Sightsavers and Ghana Blind Union, this pathway focuses on enhancing the skills of young graduates who often lack clear career direction. The goal is to strengthen employability skills, ensuring participants are prepared for decent, permanent jobs and contracts.
Theory of Change: Sustained Employment and Growth
The core goal of RISE/E is to enhance youth employment and create decent jobs for young persons with disabilities. The project’s Theory of Change aims to strengthen opportunities and overcome barriers to decent employment, ensuring participants not only enter but also sustain their jobs.
A key element is guiding youth to develop a clear employment plan from the point of enrolment, preventing the “friction” caused by trying to juggle multiple, unspecialised paths.
The long-term outcome seeks to ensure participants remain in sustained employment. Intermediate outcomes focus on ensuring participants progress against their plans through capacity building in areas like CV writing. For the entrepreneurship pathway, the long-term goal is to see micro-businesses generate decent jobs, enabling them to employ others and contribute to the local economy.
Next Steps
Following the workshop, Sightsavers plans a series of engagements with the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations and the Minister for Labour to ensure the Ministry officially adopts the employment equity policy. The actionable advocacy objectives developed during the two-day session will also be finalised to drive the project’s mission forward.
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com
