Ghana and the United States Virgin Islands have agreed to formalise a partnership in November 2026 that will facilitate the recruitment of Ghanaian nurses and teachers to address critical staff shortages in the territory.
The agreement follows discussions between a Ghanaian delegation comprising representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Job Creation and the presidency, and senior officials of the Virgin Islands government. The delegation met officials at Government House on St. Thomas as Governor Albert Bryan Jr. pursues efforts to strengthen the territory’s healthcare and education workforce.
Ghana was represented by Gilbert Attipoe, Presidential Aide at the Office of the Chief of Staff; Bediako Kwabena Acheampong, Technical Coordinator at the Office of the President; and Samuel Kodom, Administrator and Executive Aide to the Minister for Labour, Employment and Job Creation.
The discussions focused on recruiting qualified Ghanaian nurses and teachers to fill positions that have proved difficult to staff locally. The planned Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), expected to be signed in November, is intended to provide a framework for cooperation between the two sides on the recruitment of the professionals.
Details of the number of nurses and teachers expected to be recruited, the specific qualifications required and the conditions of employment have not yet been announced.
The engagement forms part of Ghana’s broader efforts to establish international labour partnerships that create employment opportunities for skilled professionals while helping countries facing workforce shortages. The government has been pursuing the Ghana Labour Exchange Programme to facilitate structured overseas employment for Ghanaians across various sectors.
In September 2026, Ghana also signed an MoU with the City of Columbus, Ohio, in the United States to establish a framework for creating employment opportunities for Ghanaian nurses, with an emphasis on ethical recruitment and protecting the welfare and professional interests of health workers.
The Virgin Islands discussions could extend these efforts to the education sector, with Ghanaian teachers potentially benefiting alongside nurses from the proposed arrangement.
In January 2026, Ghana deployed its first batch of 121 nurses, midwives and other allied healthcare professionals to Antigua and Barbuda under the Ghana Labour Exchange Programme. The government has also been pursuing similar opportunities in other countries as it seeks to address unemployment among trained professionals and meet international demand for skilled workers.
