GHANA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT COMPARING LOCAL CONTENT FRAMEWORKS IN MINING AND OVERVIEW OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES

The document examines Ghana's efforts to increase local employment in its mining and oil and gas sectors. It contrasts the early, more generic approach of the mining sector with the more explicit, target-driven framework of the petroleum industry, highlighting the importance of predictability, phased quotas, and robust monitoring for foreign investment and local capacity building.

• Ghana's mining local content framework evolved from the generic Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, which was seen as lacking "strategic direction" and granting too much discretion to the Minerals Commission, to the 2012 Minerals and Mining Regulations. These 2012 regulations introduced explicit quotas for domestic workers and restricted expatriate senior staff to no more than 10 per cent in the first three years and 6 per cent thereafter.
• Despite regulatory efforts, direct employment in the mining sector remains low, with only 1.1 per cent of the Ghanaian labour force employed in mining projects as of 2013. This has led to calls for the industry to be treated as a "growth pole" to better integrate with the local economy and increase spillover benefits.
• The petroleum industry's Local Content Policy, developed after the discovery of the Jubilee Field, is more prescriptive than the mining framework, aiming for 90 per cent local content by 2020. It sets phased targets for Ghanaians in management (50 per cent initially, rising to 80 per cent after five years) and technical staff (30 per cent initially, rising to 85 per cent after five years and 90 per cent after 10 years).
• While petroleum companies generally appear to be meeting employment targets, the sector faces challenges including unreliable employment data due to "reporting irregularities by oil companies" and a lack of effective monitoring for training and capacity building programs.

APA

Grice, T. (2018). GHANA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT COMPARING LOCAL CONTENT FRAMEWORKS IN MINING AND OVERVIEW OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-ghana-direct-employment.pdf

Chicago

Grice, Tim. GHANA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT COMPARING LOCAL CONTENT FRAMEWORKS IN MINING AND OVERVIEW OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-ghana-direct-employment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Grice |first1=Tim |title=GHANA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT COMPARING LOCAL CONTENT FRAMEWORKS IN MINING AND OVERVIEW OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-ghana-direct-employment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{grice2018ghana, author = {Grice, Tim}, title = {{GHANA: DIRECT EMPLOYMENT COMPARING LOCAL CONTENT FRAMEWORKS IN MINING AND OVERVIEW OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-ghana-direct-employment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }