Job Readiness Level 2

Who it is for. Trainees who completed Job Readiness (Level 1) or can already write a basic CV and attend an interview: TVET graduates, apprentices finishing a trade, national service persons, women returning to work and persons with disabilities. National Proficiency II is the level after National Proficiency I in Ghana's TVET framework.

Bridge from Level 1: what you already know

Level 1 did not cover career planning, matching your CV to keywords, portfolios, online job sites and email applications, panel, phone, video and practical interviews, aptitude tests, payslips with SSNIT and PAYE, probation, notice and deductions, or a paid job-search service. Level 2 covers all of these.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 70% of the time is practical, following CTVET's Oil Palm programme split of about 30% school and 70% workplace. At this level you work under limited supervision and handle some varied, less routine tasks.

Honesty rule. Numbers marked example were invented to teach a method. Where a Ghana fact could not be found, the book says not verified. Every sum was checked by a computer script.

Competency standard

Range. Real adverts from the Western Region; the trainee's own skills and goals. Evidence. Updated CV; skills-gap table; 12-month plan.

Step 1: review your Level 1 kit

1. Read your CV aloud. Is every line true and up to date?
2. Change any line that is only a duty into an achievement (Level 1, Unit 2).
3. Check your referees still agree and their numbers still work.
4. Check your job folder: Ghana Card, certificates, two clean CV copies.

Step 2: read the labour market

Labour market information means facts about which jobs exist, where, and what they need. Ghana's Labour Market Information System (GLMIS) is a government portal built to give jobseekers and employers this information and close the gap between them.

Simple ways to read your local market:

The national unemployment rate was 12.8% in 2025, with urban unemployment higher than rural, and the Western Region above the national level. Competition is strong, so aim carefully.

Step 3: the skills-gap table

Fill this for three adverts. The gaps that appear again and again are your training priorities.

Step 4: ways to close the gaps

• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). If you learned a trade on the job without a certificate, CTVET's RPL route lets you show evidence and be assessed; its page provides a guide, application form, competency checklists and lists of portfolio evidence.
• National Apprenticeship Programme. Launched in 2025 with free competency-based training, certification, start-up capital and equipment. It began with a target of 10,000 youth.
• Short courses at the Hub or a TVET institute: ICT, customer care, first aid, a driving licence.
• Volunteering and attachments that give you a reference and a real achievement.

Step 5: your 12-month career plan

Write one page with:

1. My goal job in 12 months (title, kind of employer, town).
2. My next job if the goal job needs more experience.
3. Three skills or certificates to get, with dates and costs.
4. Monthly actions: how many applications, visits and follow-ups (for example, 8 applications and 4 walk-in visits a month).
5. Who will help me: a mentor, a master craftsman, the Hub.
6. My plan B: a small service I can run meanwhile (Unit 7).

Check yourself

1. What is labour market information?
2. What does RPL help an experienced worker without a certificate to do?
3. Name four parts of a 12-month career plan.

Competency standard

Range. Two different real adverts; the trainee's trade. Evidence. Two tailored CVs; two cover letters; portfolio.

Why tailor

Jobberman's chief executive called generic CVs "like shooting in dark", and advised including specific details and keywords from the job description. Jobberman's own application steps also tell you to upload a CV tailored to the job description.

Step by step: tailor a CV to one advert

1. Highlight keywords in the advert: skills (customer service, stock records, MIG welding), tools (Excel, POS machine), qualities (punctual, honest), certificates.
2. Profile: use two or three of those keywords, truthfully. "Customer-focused shop assistant with two years' experience in stock records and mobile money payments."
3. Skills: put the skills the advert names first, in the advert's words, if you truly have them.
4. Achievements: choose the two or three that prove the advert's top requirements. Add numbers where you can: the UGBS guide advises quantifying results, for example halving a response time.
5. Remove lines that do not help this job, to keep one page (two pages only if you have long experience).
6. Name the file Firstname-Lastname-CV-JobTitle.pdf and save the version for this job.

Computer reading (simple). Some large employers sort CVs with software before a person reads them. To be safe: use a simple layout with normal headings (Education, Work Experience, Skills), no tables or text inside pictures, and save a PDF unless the advert asks for Word. How each Ghana employer screens CVs was not verified.

The cover letter (Level 2)

A cover letter (or covering letter) goes with your CV, usually by email or upload. Jobberman's chief executive advised writing a role-specific cover letter with the CV.

The three-paragraph cover letter:

1. Hook: the job, where you saw it, and one sentence on why you fit.
2. Match: take the advert's top two or three requirements and give one short proof for each (a mini STAR story).
3. Close: why this employer, your availability, thanks.

Model (example):

Dear Mrs Ansah,

Application for Front Desk Assistant (Ref FD/10/26)

I am applying for the Front Desk Assistant post advertised on Jobberman on 2 October 2026. I bring two years of customer-facing work and a calm, polite manner with guests.

Your advert asks for customer care, records and computer skills. At Effia Guest House I welcomed up to 30 guests a day and kept the booking book with no double bookings in my last six months. I type 30 words a minute and use Excel for simple daily sales sheets. When a guest's room was not ready, I offered a drink and a seat and kept them updated every ten minutes; she later wrote a good review.

I admire your hotel's reputation for service in Takoradi and would like to grow with your team. I am available immediately and can be reached on 024 000 0000. Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

Esi Baidoo

Your portfolio

A portfolio is a folder (paper or phone) that shows your work. It is very strong for trades.

The CTVET RPL route also asks for portfolio evidence, so a good portfolio serves twice.

Briefing your referees

1. Call them when you apply.
2. Tell them the job, the employer, and the two strengths you want them to mention.
3. Send them your tailored CV.
4. Thank them afterwards and tell them the result.

Check yourself

1. Give two ways to tailor a CV to an advert.
2. What goes in each of the three paragraphs of a cover letter?
3. Why is a portfolio useful for a tradesperson?

Competency standard

Range. A phone or computer; one checked job site; email. Evidence. Email sent to the trainer; screenshot of profile and alert; safety checklist.

Step by step: a professional email account

1. Use a free email service on your phone or computer.
2. Choose an address from your name: esi.baidoo, kofi.eshun.welder. Avoid nicknames.
3. Make a strong password: a long phrase you can remember, with numbers. Never share it.
4. Turn on two-step sign-in if offered, so a code is sent to your phone.
5. Add a signature: full name, trade or job title, phone number.

Step by step: apply by email

1. To: the exact address in the advert. Copy and paste it.
2. Subject: what the advert asks for, or "Application for [job title] – [your name]". Include any reference number.
3. Body (short): greeting; one line on the job you are applying for; one line on why you fit; "Please find attached my CV and cover letter"; thanks; signature.
4. Attachments: CV and cover letter as PDFs with your name in the file names; certificates only if asked (one combined PDF).
5. Check: spelling, attachments really attached, address correct.
6. Send in working hours. Write the date in your application log.

Model (example):

Subject: Application for Front Desk Assistant (Ref FD/10/26) – Esi Baidoo

Dear Mrs Ansah,

I am applying for the Front Desk Assistant post advertised on Jobberman. I have two years' guest-facing experience and good computer skills. Please find attached my CV and cover letter.

Thank you for considering my application.

Kind regards, Esi Baidoo 024 000 0000

Job sites and portals

Step by step: set up a job alert

1. Open the job site from the address you typed yourself, not from a forwarded link.
2. Create a job seeker account.
3. Fill the profile truthfully; upload your general CV.
4. Search by job title and "Takoradi" or "Western".
5. Save the search as an alert so new jobs come to your email.
6. Apply only to jobs that fit (Unit 1), with a tailored CV each time (Unit 2).

Keep an application log

Recruitment often takes weeks: Jobberman's chief executive suggested 4 to 6 weeks before following up.

Online safety for jobseekers

• Scammers clone the websites of real government agencies to make fake offers look real, and to steal personal data.
• The Cyber Security Authority says: do not share personal information, ID documents or financial details with recruiters you have not checked.
• Task-based "jobs" (liking posts for pay, then depositing to unlock tasks) are scams.
• The Ghana Armed Forces uses an official recruitment portal, and the CSA found 86 fake recruitment accounts in one week after the 2025 recruitment opened. Always reach security-service recruitment through the official site only.
• Ghana's Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843) governs how personal data is processed. Give only what the job needs.

Accessibility online

Screen readers such as NVDA on a computer and Android's built-in accessibility tools let blind and low-vision jobseekers read adverts, fill forms and send email. Use clear headings in your CV so a screen reader moves through it easily.

Check yourself

1. What should the subject line of an application email contain?
2. Why should you type a job site's address yourself?
3. Give two things the CSA says not to share with unchecked recruiters.

Competency standard

Range. One panel, one phone, one video interview; one practical test; one written test. Evidence. Panel checklist; test scripts; offer-letter checklist.

Panel interviews

1. Greet everyone. Learn their names if they introduce themselves.
2. Look mainly at the person who asked, then include the others when you finish.
3. Prepare five STAR stories that fit many questions: a problem you solved, a time you worked in a team, a mistake you corrected, a difficult customer, a time you learned something fast.
4. Expect behaviour questions ("Tell us about a time...") and situation questions ("What would you do if...?"). For a situation question: say what you would do first (safety), who you would tell, and how you would prevent it again.

Phone and video interviews

Practical (trade) tests

Many trades test you by doing: sewing a seam, welding a joint, fixing a fault, typing a letter, setting a table.

1. Listen to the whole instruction; repeat it back.
2. Check your tools and PPE first. Ask for anything missing.
3. Work safely: the employer must provide protective equipment at no cost, and the worker must use it.
4. Work steadily; neat and correct is better than fast and wrong.
5. Explain each step if asked.
6. Clean your place when you finish.

Aptitude tests (simple)

Some employers give short written tests. Practise these types:

Tips: read every question; do the easy ones first; check units (GH¢, kg, hours); do not leave blanks if there is no penalty.

Pay talk and offer letters

• Research the usual pay for the job before the interview (ask workers, look at adverts). If asked, give a reasonable range.
• No full-time worker should be paid below the national minimum wage of GH¢21.77 a day in 2026.
• Before you accept, read the offer letter: job title, start date, pay and when it is paid, hours, probation length, leave, where you will work. Under Ghana's Labour Regulations, a contract that requires probation must state how long the probation is.
• Ask questions about anything unclear. Ask for it in writing.

Check yourself

1. Where should the light be in a video interview?
2. What must a contract that requires probation state?
3. Name four things to check in an offer letter.

Competency standard

Range. Role-plays; sample payslips; time sheets. Evidence. Three written documents; meeting notes; payslip and overtime workings.

Three work documents

1. Incident report (anything that went wrong or nearly went wrong):

Employers must report occupational accidents and diseases to the right government agency within seven days. Your accurate report helps them do this.

2. Handover note (end of shift): what was done, what is still pending, any problems, stock or cash count, who to call.

3. Work email: clear subject; greeting; the point in the first line; what you need and by when; thanks; signature.

Meetings and teamwork

• Arrive on time with a pen.
• Listen; speak once you have something useful to add.
• Write action points: what, who, by when.
• Disagreeing politely: "I see your point. My concern is ... Could we try ...?"
• Never shout, insult or gossip. Take a serious problem to your supervisor privately.

Customer complaints: the LAST steps

1. Listen without interrupting.
2. Apologise for the trouble (you are not admitting fault).
3. Solve or find someone who can. Say what will happen and when.
4. Thank the customer, and follow up.

Your payslip

A Ghana payslip usually shows basic salary, allowances, deductions and net pay. The two main deductions:

• SSNIT: the employee pays 5.5% and the employer 13% of basic salary, 18.5% in all.
• PAYE income tax is worked out on pay after the employee's SSNIT. The 2026 monthly bands are: first GH¢588 at 0%, next 80 at 5%, next 100 at 10%, next 2,900 at 17.5%, next 16,000 at 25%, next 30,332 at 30%, above 50,000 at 35%. The tax-free band was raised to GH¢588 a month from September 2026 by Act 1178.

How to check a payslip (step by step):

1. SSNIT (employee) = basic × 5.5%.
2. Taxable pay = basic − SSNIT (add taxable allowances if any).
3. Apply the PAYE bands one by one.
4. Net pay = basic − SSNIT − PAYE − any other agreed deduction.
5. The employer's 13% is not taken from your pay.

Worked example (example salary GH¢1,500 a month, no allowances):

Deductions the law allows and forbids. An employer must not fine a worker, and may deduct only what the law permits or the worker agreed to, such as pension contributions or repayment of an advance.

Time sheets and overtime

• Work beyond the hours fixed by the workplace's rules is overtime; a worker may not be required to do overtime unless the workplace has fixed overtime pay rates. The Act does not set a single overtime rate; your contract or collective agreement does.
• A pregnant worker, or a mother of a child under eight months, may not be made to do overtime without her consent.

Check yourself

1. What are the LAST steps?
2. What percentage of basic salary does the employee pay to SSNIT?
3. Is the employer's 13% SSNIT taken from the worker's pay?

Competency standard

Range. The Labour Act 2003 and Labour Regulations 2007; case studies. Evidence. Rights quiz; case study answers; agency check.

Habits that keep jobs

These match the worker's duties in the Labour Act: report regularly and on time, work carefully, obey lawful instructions, take care of others' safety and the employer's property.

Contracts, probation and notice

Fair and unfair dismissal

• Fair reasons include incompetence, proven misconduct, redundancy and a legal restriction on the work.
• Unfair if the only reason is, for example, union membership, making a complaint against the employer, gender, religion, pregnancy or maternity leave, disability, or a certified temporary illness.
• A worker who leaves because of ill-treatment, or because the employer ignored repeated complaints of sexual harassment, is treated as unfairly dismissed.
• A worker may complain about unfair termination to the National Labour Commission, which may order reinstatement, re-employment or compensation. These unfair-dismissal rules do not cover workers on probation, on fixed-term contracts or casual workers.

Harassment and "sex for jobs"

• Sexual harassment means unwelcome, offensive or persistent sexual advances or requests by an employer, superior or co-worker, to a man or a woman.
• A lawyer has warned that the Labour Act's protection may cover only people already employed, so jobseekers and trainees may fall into a gap. If anyone asks for sex for a job, leave, keep the messages, tell someone you trust and report to the police.

Special protections

• Women: at least 12 weeks' paid maternity leave; a nursing mother may take an hour a day to nurse her baby, paid as working time; no dismissal for maternity leave.
• Young persons (18 to under 21 in the Act) must not do work with physical or moral hazard.
• Casual workers must get equal pay for equal work for each day, overtime pay and the full minimum for each day they attend. A temporary worker employed continuously by the same employer for six months or more is treated as permanent.
• Workers with disabilities: notice to end their employment must be at least one month, and a worker who becomes disabled keeps the job if a suitable job can be found in the same workplace. An employer must provide the tools and facilities a worker with disability needs. A stronger disability bill awaits Parliament.
• Injury at work: workmen's compensation covers injured workers, including casual and temporary workers.

Steps to solve a problem

1. Write it down: dates, what happened, who saw it, messages.
2. Talk to your supervisor calmly, or the next manager if the supervisor is the problem.
3. Use the workplace grievance procedure if there is one; a union representative can help.
4. Labour Department: the district office (Public Employment Centre) handles labour matters, including inspection and workmen's compensation claims.
5. National Labour Commission for unfair dismissal and certain complaints. Whether the Commission has a working office in Takoradi was not verified.

Recruitment agencies: check the licence

• An agency must be a company and hold a licence from the Minister; the licence lasts 12 months.
• If a licensed agency fails to place you within three months, it must refund 50% of the fees you paid. Note that genuine employers and public recruiters charge nothing.
• The Ministry publishes the list of licensed agencies on its website and the Labour Department can confirm an agency's status. Unlicensed agencies have charged high "processing" fees for care jobs in the UK and elsewhere.
• Overseas offers need extra care: traffickers have used AI-made photos and local MoMo accounts. Report suspicious recruiters to the Immigration Service, the CSA on 292, or the Ministry's toll-free line 0800600400.

Check yourself

1. How much notice is needed to end a contract of less than three years?
2. Give two reasons that make a dismissal unfair.
3. What must a licensed agency refund if it cannot place you within three months?

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own plan. Evidence. Price list; WhatsApp Business screenshot; poster; one-page plan.

Location settings that give good returns

Service ideas

Pricing a service

Price = materials + your time + a share of costs (phone, data, transport, rent).

A Ghana CV service advertised CV packages of about GH¢50 to GH¢150 in 2026. Check prices near you before you set yours.

Market yourself and the service

• WhatsApp Business: profile with hours and location, a catalogue of services and prices, a greeting message and quick replies.
• Google Business Profile so people can find you on Maps; verification is by phone, email, video call or postcard, and Google will never ask for your verification code.
• A poster at schools and training centres (with permission): services, prices, phone, "We never charge for jobs. We help you apply."
• Before-and-after CVs (with the client's permission and names hidden) as proof.
• Referrals: a small discount for a client who brings a friend.

Accessibility

Ghana's Persons with Disability Act 2006 says a person who provides a service to the public must make it accessible to persons with disability. The Assemblies' disability fund rose to 5% in 2026 for skills, devices and start-up capital.

Check yourself

1. Name three good locations for a job-search help service.
2. What may you not do without a recruitment licence?
3. Give two accessibility changes for the service.

1. Name two ways to close a skills gap you found in adverts.
2. How do you tailor a CV to an advert? Give three steps.
3. What goes in the three paragraphs of a cover letter?
4. Give the six parts of a good application email.
5. Give three checks before you trust a job website.
6. How do you prepare for a video interview?
7. Work out employee SSNIT and net pay for a basic salary of GH¢900 (no allowances).
8. What does the Labour Act say about fines and deductions?
9. How much notice ends a contract of three years or more?
10. Give three special protections for women workers.
11. What must a recruitment agency be and hold before it operates?
12. Name two things a job-search help service must never do.

Best next reads: the Labour Act, 2003 in full; the Cyber Security Authority's alerts; the University of Ghana Business School CV guide; and the Hub's Workplace Experience Learning Level 2, Digital Skills and Money Skills Level 2 manuals.

What this module does not cover: coaching other jobseekers, running a job club, supervising staff, recruitment licensing in detail, registering and keeping the books of an employment-services business (see Level 3).

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.