Ghana is a roguish country: recently, my friend told me about how she had to pay a huge amount of money ahead of a loan she was seeking. She paid about 25% of the loan amount she was seeking, to the savings and loans’ company she was seeking the loan from before her application was even assessed.
I didn’t understand it then and still do not. Why must anyone pay money to a company the same person is asking for a loan from? And this payment must be made before the loan application is even assessed.
Of course, desperate people will make these payments without hesitation. And it’s not only those in need of loans that are being exploited in Ghana, it’s worse for those seeking for employment.
Until recently, I did not know that Recruitment Agencies in Ghana charge job seekers certain amount of money, termed registration fee—and this amount can be as much as 600 GHS (over 100 pounds).
Unfortunately, this registration fee is not refundable which simply means that either the Agency is able to help you find a job or not, you wouldn’t ever get that money back.
That’s a broad day scam; because all a person has to do is to register a Recruitment Agency and advertise for job seekers to come and register—and then take their registration fees and refuse to provide any employment for them.
Several Ghanaians have shared their experiences in relation to this grand recruitment agency scam in Ghana and it’s disheartening. Asking unemployed graduates to part with money they do not have when you do not guarantee any return makes no sense but out of desperation and lack of any other alternative, these people are compelled to borrow money from friends and family to pay these Recruitment Agencies.
Apart from the obvious fact that anyone can easily set up a Recruitment Agency in Ghana to profit from this scheme, even the genuine Agencies are somewhat ripping off job seekers with their registration fee requirements.
Imagine MTN Ghana has 5 vacancies available. The company would then contact Recruitment Agency A and inform the Agency they need 5 workers. The Agency will proceed to advertise these vacancies and receive over 500 applications, charging each person a non-refundable registration fee when in fact only 5 people will get the job.
I’ve used Recruitment Agencies in the United Kingdom to seek for jobs in the past and I never paid anything. In fact, that’s not what is done.
Recruitment Agencies are paid by the companies seeking the workers—after all, the agencies work for these companies by helping them with their recruitments.
Also, Agency workers may have a little reduction in wages (allowable margins) compared to non-Agency workers, which go to the Agencies. And even that, it cannot be in perpetuity as after a period of time in employment with a company via an Agency, the person ought to become an employee of that company, directly.
But that’s not what happens in Ghana. It’s shocking that the Labour Commission of Ghana allows these agencies to scam job seekers in such a manner.
Check below for experiences of some Ghanaian job seekers in relation to this practice…