Job Readiness Level 3

Who it is for. Trainees who completed Job Readiness Level 2 or already help others with CVs and applications: business-centre and printing-shop operators, youth leaders, church and community workers, teachers, national service persons and persons with disabilities. In Ghana's TVET framework, National Proficiency II leads on to the National Certificate levels; this advanced module is comparable in depth to National Certificate I, but it is not an accredited qualification.

Why an employment-services business

• Youth unemployment is high: unemployment among people aged 15 to 24 rose to 32.8%, and a University of Ghana evaluation found that job-readiness training raised job offers and confidence among young graduates. The same brief recommends guided support for using digital job portals, such as help creating profiles and preparing for interviews.
• The Western Region was among the regions with unemployment above the national level in 2025.
• Fake recruiters keep cheating jobseekers: by mid-2023 the Cyber Security Authority estimated GH¢908,427 had been lost to online job recruitment fraud since 2022. An honest, local service that people trust has value.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

Level 2 did not cover coaching others, group facilitation, employer services, supervising staff, data protection systems, registering a business, full bookkeeping, or a business plan with a cash forecast. Level 3 covers all of these. The Hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2 teach general bookkeeping and venture basics; this book goes deeper and is specific to an employment-services business.

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. At this level you work with little supervision, solve non-routine problems, supervise others and run an enterprise.

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. Three clients with different needs (a school leaver, an experienced tradesperson without a certificate, a jobseeker with a disability). Evidence. Intake forms with consent; readiness checklists; action plans; session notes; follow-up log.

The coaching cycle

1. Intake (15 min): welcome, explain, consent.
2. Assess (20 min): readiness checklist.
3. Plan (15 min): SMART action plan.
4. Coach and practise (30 min per session): CV, interview, search.
5. Follow up (weekly by phone or WhatsApp): progress, new adverts, motivation.
6. Record the outcome: interview, job, training, business started.

Step 1: intake

Step 2: the readiness checklist

Score each line 0 (not yet), 1 (partly), 2 (ready):

A low score is not a failure. It shows where to start.

Step 3: a SMART action plan

SMART means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

The client writes the plan in their own words; you guide.

Step 4: coaching skills

• Open questions: "What kind of work gives you energy?" "What happened at your last interview?" (not "Did it go well?")
• Listening: nod, wait, summarise: "So you are good with customers but nervous with panels."
• Feedback sandwich: one strength, one change, one encouragement.
• Practise, do not lecture: a 10-minute mock interview teaches more than a 30-minute talk.
• Respect choices: the client decides; you inform.

Step 5: referrals

Coaching clients with disabilities

• Ask, do not assume: "How do you prefer to work? What helps you?"
• Jobseekers with disabilities can register at a Public Employment Centre and get a certificate of registration.
• Tell clients what employers must do: provide the tools and facilities a worker with disability needs, and not discriminate against an applicant because of disability unless the disability affects the particular job.
• Help clients decide whether and how to mention a disability. It is their choice. A good line focuses on ability and any adjustment needed: "I use a screen reader and work fully on a standard computer."
• Career fairs with disability-confident employers exist: the Ghana Business Disability Network brought about 50 jobseekers with disabilities and about 20 private employers together with CV reviews and coaching.

Check yourself

1. What does SMART stand for?
2. What must you tell a client at intake about what you do not do?
3. Give two places to refer a client who wants certification for skills learned on the job or an apprenticeship.

Competency standard

Range. One job club of 8 to 15 members; one employer visit. Evidence. Programme; session plan; attendance and outcome register; mock-interview score sheets.

A six-session programme (one session a week)

After the six sessions, members can keep meeting weekly as an alumni club: share adverts, report results, practise before interviews.

Step by step: a 90-minute session

1. Before: room set in a U shape or small groups; materials ready; attendance sheet; check access (ground floor, seats, light).
2. Welcome (10 min): names; one good news story from last week.
3. Teach (15 min): one idea only, with a real example.
4. Practise (40 min): pairs or small groups do the task; you walk round and coach.
5. Share (15 min): two or three people show their work; the group gives feedback (strength, change, encouragement).
6. Commit (10 min): each member writes one action for this week in the register.
7. After: record attendance and actions; send a WhatsApp summary with the next date.

Ground rules (agree in session 1): be on time; phones silent; respect; what is shared stays in the room; everyone practises; no selling and no "connection fees" inside the club.

Mock interview panel

Panel of three: you, a club member, and if possible a guest employer. Each panel member scores alone, then you agree feedback. Give the member the sheet.

Employer talks and visits

• Invite a local HR officer, hotel manager or workshop owner to talk for 20 minutes: "What do you look for? What mistakes do applicants make?"
• Members prepare one question each.
• Thank the employer in writing.
• Do not promise members jobs from the visit, and do not take any fee for "introducing" members. If the employer wants to recruit, they advertise and members apply like anyone else.

Outcome register

Report results honestly. A University of Ghana evaluation found that a 12-week job-readiness programme increased job offers and confidence, but found no short-term effect on employment three months later, partly because of commuting distances. Do not promise "100% employment".

Inclusive job clubs

• Large print and accessible digital copies of handouts; describe any picture aloud.
• A sign language interpreter or written summaries for deaf members; face the group when you speak.
• Ground-floor room; space for wheelchairs to turn; breaks.
• Mixed pairs, so members with different strengths help each other.

Check yourself

1. Name the seven steps of a 90-minute session.
2. Why must you not promise members jobs from an employer visit?
3. What did the ISSER evaluation find about short-term employment?

Competency standard

Range. The Labour Act 2003, the Labour Regulations 2007 and the Persons with Disability Act 2006; two employer case studies. Evidence. Licence-line table; job description; advert; employer service sheet.

The law in one place

• A Private Employment Agency means a company that acts as an intermediary to procure employment for a worker or to recruit a worker for an employer.
• Nobody may establish or operate one unless it is a company and has been granted a licence by the Minister; the licence lasts 12 months and may be renewed.
• An agency may recruit for jobs outside Ghana only if its licence allows it and Ghana has an agreement with that country.
• An agency must send the Minister returns on workers recruited every three months, and its licence is revoked if it fails to.
• If an agency cannot place a client within three months, it must refund 50% of the fees the client paid.
• The Labour Regulations 2007 say the founder must first register the agency as a company, pay a licence fee and a security deposit of GH¢25,000 to cover repatriation of workers sent abroad, and have the premises, facilities and staff inspected before a licence is granted. The licence fee is written as "five million cedis" (old cedis, before the 2007 redenomination) with renewal at "three million cedis" for two years; the current cedi amounts were not verified. Ask the Labour Department.
• An agency must respect a worker's right to confidentiality of data, limited to qualifications and experience.
• The Ministry has warned that operating without a licence is illegal and has published a toll-free line, 0800600400, to report unlicensed agencies.

The licence line

Where a service sits on the line, ask the Labour Department in writing before you start, and keep the reply.

Employer services you can offer without a licence

Step by step: a job description

1. Job title and who the person reports to.
2. Purpose in one sentence.
3. Main duties (5 to 8 lines, action words).
4. Requirements: must-have and nice-to-have. Only what the job truly needs.
5. Conditions: place, hours, pay or pay range, contract type, probation length.
6. How to apply and the closing date; "We do not charge any fee at any stage."

Fair adverts

• The Labour Act forbids employers to discriminate against anyone seeking work on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, social or economic status, disability or politics. Do not write "Female only, under 25, pretty" or "No disabled".
• An employer must not discriminate against a job applicant because of disability unless the disability is in respect of the particular job.
• State that genuine recruitment is free. Scammers ask for fees for forms, medicals and training.
• Use plain words and a clear closing date.

Advising employers on the basics

Check yourself

1. What two things must a Private Employment Agency be and hold?
2. What must a licensed agency refund if it cannot place a client within three months?
3. Name three employer services that need no licence.

Competency standard

Range. A small business with one or two assistants; real client files (with consent) or realistic samples. Evidence. Assistant job description and induction checklist; quality checklist; data-protection plan; complaints log.

Supervising an assistant

1. Job description (Unit 3 method): typing, printing, reception, WhatsApp replies.
2. Contract and pay: written contract for six months or more; at least the minimum wage; register with SSNIT on hiring.
3. Induction (first week): service list and prices; how to greet clients; the licence line; the data-protection plan; cash and MoMo rules; safety.
4. Daily targets: for example, CVs typed and checked, clients served, follow-ups made.
5. Weekly feedback: strengths, one change, support needed. Write it down.
6. Discipline fairly: warn in writing, give a chance to explain, and never fine the worker; the Labour Act forbids fines and most deductions.

CV quality checklist (every document before it leaves)

Complaints log: date, client, complaint, action, result. Review it each month. A complaint fixed fast often brings a referral.

Protecting personal data

• The Data Protection Commission says all data controllers and processors must register with it. A CV service holds names, phone numbers, addresses, education and sometimes ID numbers, so it is a data controller.
• Registration fees for 2025 under L.I. 2512: small data controllers or processors (annual turnover of GH¢90,000 and below, up to 50 staff or customers) pay GH¢156; medium (turnover above GH¢90,000 and below GH¢5 million) GH¢1,170; large GH¢2,340. How long a registration lasts was not stated on the Commission's page: check when you register.
• Ghana's Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843) is the main law.
• Recruitment agencies must respect a worker's confidentiality, limited to qualifications and experience.

Your simple data-protection plan:

Safeguarding young and vulnerable clients

Fraud prevention

• Scam adverts: check every advert before you share it, using the Level 1 checklist; scammers now clone government websites.
• Staff dishonesty: issue a receipt for every payment; separate the person who takes cash from the person who counts it at day end; check MoMo statements daily (Unit 6).
• Never let any staff member offer clients "connection" for a fee.

Check yourself

1. Which DPC fee category would a new small CV service usually fall into, and what is the fee?
2. Name three rules in a data-protection plan.
3. Why must an employer never fine an assistant for a mistake?

Competency standard

Range. A CV, typing and coaching business in the Takoradi area, with an option to grow into a licensed agency. Evidence. Legal-form choice with reasons; registration checklist; start-up budget; one-page plan.

Step 1: choose a legal form

A sensible path: start as a registered sole proprietor offering coaching, CV, typing and training. If you later want to shortlist and place workers, form a company and apply for a Private Employment Agency licence (Unit 3).

Step 2: registration checklist

Step 3: premises and equipment

Location settings that give good returns (from Level 2, deeper):

Start-up budget (all prices are examples; get three quotes each):

Step 4: finance

• Savings and susu/VSLA first; borrow only for equipment that earns.
• Microfinance or bank loan: compare total cost, not just the monthly payment.
• Government and agency support: the 2026 Budget set aside GH¢401 million for a Women's Development Bank, GH¢170 million for the National Apprenticeship Programme and GH¢160 million for Adwumawura. GEA runs Business Advisory Centres in Takoradi and nearby districts and programmes such as Business-in-a-Box.
• Persons with disabilities: the Assemblies' disability fund rose to 5% in 2026 for skills, devices and start-up capital; GEA has run an enterprise support programme for businesses owned by persons with disabilities.

Step 5: hiring and staff

• Written contract for six months or more; written terms within two months.
• At least the minimum wage.
• SSNIT: employee 5.5% plus employer 13%; register workers on hiring; pay within 14 days after month end; late payment attracts a 3% monthly penalty.
• PAYE by the 15th of the next month.
• 15 working days' paid leave a year.
• Safe workplace and first-aid kit; report accidents within seven days.
• Self-employed owners can save for a pension through SSNIT's self-employed scheme; over 103,000 had joined by August 2024.

Step 6: tax

• Income tax for a sole proprietor: the Modified Taxation Scheme covers residents with only business income who are not VAT-registered; turnover up to GH¢20,000 pays fixed amounts, and up to GH¢750,000 pays 3% of turnover after the 2026 amendment. Professionals and people with several businesses are excluded.
• VAT: from 1 January 2026, the effective rate is 20%. For services there is no turnover threshold: a taxable person supplying taxable services must register within 30 days of starting. A VAT-registered business cannot use the Modified Taxation Scheme. Ask GRA in writing whether your CV, typing and training services are taxable supplies and when you must register; this is the most important tax question for this business.
• Withholding tax: when a company pays you for services, it may withhold 7.5% (individuals or entities paid over GH¢2,000 a year) and give you a certificate; keep it.
• Companies pay income tax at 25% and file within four months after year end.
• Keep records in Ghana for at least six years.

Step 7: insurance

Use only insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission; check on its website. Consider cover for equipment (fire and theft) and, if you employ, workmen's compensation, which covers injured workers including casual and temporary workers.

Step 8: market yourself

• Brand promise: "Honest help to get hired. We never charge for jobs."
• WhatsApp Business catalogue of services and prices; Google Business Profile so people find you on Maps; Google never asks for your verification code.
• Partnerships: talks at TVET institutes and churches; a referral line with the Public Employment Centre.
• Proof: outcome numbers from your register (honest), before-and-after CVs (with permission), short client voice notes (with permission).
• Seasons: WASSCE and TVET results, graduation, national service postings, and the end of national service bring demand. Plan promotions for those months.

Accessibility

Ghana's Persons with Disability Act requires anyone who provides a service to the public to make it accessible to persons with disability, and an employer to provide the tools and facilities a worker with disability needs.

Check yourself

1. What does it cost to register a business name at ORC, and to renew it?
2. Which legal form must a Private Employment Agency take?
3. Why is the VAT question so important for a CV service?

Competency standard

Range. One month of an example business ("Takoradi Career Desk", a sole proprietor); real records from the trainee's practice where available. Evidence. Cash book; debtors and creditors lists; P&L; balance sheet; break-even working.

The records you keep

Separate owner and business money. Pay yourself a fixed monthly drawing; never take from the cash box for home.

Key ideas (short)

• Assets = Liabilities + Owner's equity. Every transaction keeps this true.
• Debit and credit: debits increase assets and expenses; credits increase liabilities, capital and income.
• Straight-line depreciation = (cost − salvage value) ÷ useful life. It spreads the cost of equipment over the years it earns; it is not cash leaving.
• Profit is not cash. An unpaid employer invoice is income but not yet cash; a toner purchase is cash out but only the part used is an expense.

Worked month: Takoradi Career Desk, October (all figures are examples)

Opening position, 1 October:

October activity:

• Cash and MoMo sales: 50 CV packages at GH¢80 = 4,000; typing and printing 1,600; job club 15 members at GH¢50 = 750; 20 mock-interview sessions at GH¢40 = 800. Total cash sales 7,150.
• Invoice to a hotel for a customer-care workshop: 2,000, unpaid at month end.
• Assistant's wage GH¢1,000: SSNIT 5.5% = 55.00; taxable 945.00; PAYE = 0 + 4.00 + 10.00 + (945 − 768) × 17.5% = 30.98, total 44.98; net paid 900.02. Employer SSNIT 13% = 130.00. SSNIT (185.00) and PAYE (44.98) are paid in November.
• Paid: rent 700; electricity 300; internet and data 250; paper and toner bought 1,200; marketing 200; transport 150; loan 560 (500 capital + 60 interest); owner's drawings 1,500.
• Stock count 31 October: paper and toner left 500.
• Depreciation (straight line): laptop (6,000 − 600) ÷ 36 months = 150.00; printer 3,600 ÷ 36 = 100.00; furniture 1,800 ÷ 60 = 30.00; total 280.00.
• Income tax set aside: 3% of turnover (Modified Taxation Scheme rate, if eligible and not VAT-registered; confirm with GRA) = 9,150 × 3% = 274.50.

Cash book summary (October):

Profit and loss, October:

Note: drawings and loan capital are not expenses; they come out of cash and equity or the loan.

Balance sheet, 31 October:

The balance sheet balances: 18,509.98 = 18,509.98 (checked by script).

Month-end routine (step by step)

1. Count the cash box; compare with the cash column of the cash book.
2. Download the MoMo and bank statements; tick every line against the cash book; investigate any difference the same day.
3. Count stock of paper and toner.
4. Update debtors: send reminders for invoices over 30 days.
5. Update creditors: SSNIT by the 14th, PAYE by the 15th; suppliers; loan.
6. Post depreciation from the asset register.
7. Prepare the P&L and balance sheet; check that assets equal liabilities plus equity.
8. Compare with the plan: which service made the most profit? Which cost grew?
9. File everything in a dated folder; keep it at least six years.

Free tools: a spreadsheet, or free accounting apps such as Zoho Books' free plan or Wave.

Costing, margin, mark-up and break-even

• Mark-up = profit ÷ cost × 100. Margin = profit ÷ price × 100.
• Break-even (number of sales to cover fixed costs) = fixed costs ÷ contribution per sale, where contribution = price − variable cost.

Check yourself

1. Why is an unpaid employer invoice counted as income but not cash?
2. Are owner's drawings an expense?
3. What is the difference between margin and mark-up?

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own business plan. Evidence. Service standards; service agreement; 12-month forecast; capstone pitch and panel score.

Service standards (example)

Growth paths

Test before you spend: run one workshop before buying a projector; sign one school before hiring a second trainer.

Contracts and tenders

A simple service agreement with an employer or school states: the parties; the service (topics, number of sessions, number of participants); dates and place; price, deposit and payment date; what each side provides; cancellation; data protection; signatures. Public tenders have their own rules; not verified for this module.

When a company pays you, it may withhold 7.5% tax on services; ask for the withholding tax certificate.

Ethics and succession

• Never sell clients' data or share CVs without consent.
• Never take money for a job you cannot lawfully provide.
• Never invent results.
• Train a deputy so the service runs when you are sick; write down your systems (Units 4 and 6).

Records for loans

Banks and microfinance will ask for: registration certificates, six to twelve months of cash books and bank/MoMo statements, monthly P&L, debtors list, the asset register and your cash forecast. Clean records are your best guarantee.

The 12-month cash-flow forecast (worked example; all figures are examples)

Assumptions: opening cash GH¢4,000. Monthly payments GH¢4,490 (net wage and SSNIT/PAYE 1,130; rent 700; electricity 300; internet 250; marketing 200; transport 150; loan 560; paper and toner 1,200), drawings GH¢1,500, and income tax set aside at 3% of receipts. Extra payments: January GH¢900 (ORC renewal, DPC registration, repairs, insurance); March GH¢600 (Assembly permit and sign renewal; confirm the permit fee with STMA); September GH¢5,500 (second laptop). Receipts rise in August to October with results, graduations and national service postings.

Totals: receipts 91,500; payments 81,625; closing cash 13,875 = 4,000 + 91,500 − 81,625 (checked by script).

Lessons. (1) January is the tightest month: keep a cash buffer. (2) The second laptop is bought in September, when cash is strongest, not in April. (3) If VAT registration applies, add VAT to prices and show VAT paid to GRA monthly; the forecast changes.

The capstone

Prepare and present (10 minutes, then 10 minutes of questions) to a panel of an employer, a business adviser and a lender:

Panel score sheet:

Check yourself

1. Name three growth paths and one risk of each.
2. What should a service agreement with a school contain?
3. In the example forecast, why is the laptop bought in September?

1. Name the six steps of the coaching cycle.
2. Rewrite "Find a job" as a SMART goal.
3. Name five sessions of a job-club programme.
4. Define a Private Employment Agency and state two conditions to operate one.
5. Which of these needs a licence: CV writing; shortlisting CVs and sending candidates to an employer; a soft-skills workshop for hotel staff?
6. What security deposit do the Labour Regulations 2007 require of an agency, and what is it for?
7. Name four parts of a data-protection plan.
8. What are the ORC fees for a business name and for a company limited by shares?
9. When are SSNIT and PAYE due each month?
10. Using the worked month, what were revenue, total expenses and profit before tax?
11. What does a balance sheet check prove, and what does it not prove?
12. Name five items in the capstone plan.

Best next reads: the Labour Act, 2003 and Labour Regulations, 2007; the Data Protection Commission's registration page; the GRA's Modified Taxation and VAT pages; and the Hub's Money Skills Level 2, Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2 and Workplace Experience Learning Level 3 manuals.

What this module does not cover: psychometric testing, executive search, overseas recruitment operations, legal drafting of employment contracts (get a lawyer), and full audited accounts for a company.

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