Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
Tertiary institution students who are eyeing white collar jobs after completing their education as well as youths roaming the streets for job opportunities to no avail due to the country’s poor economic condition have been called upon to embrace employability skills to be able to carve niches for themselves and also become job creators instead of job seekers.
An Islamic religious group fondly called NASFAT made the call in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, during a one-day employability skills workshop organised by the religious group in collaboration with the National Empowerment Economic Committee for the students of Fountain University, Osogbo.
The National President of NASFAT, Olaniyi Yusuf, while explaining the rationale behind the workshop in a chat with our correspondent on the sideline of the event, said that it was aimed at preparing youths, particularly undergraduates, for unemployment challenges in the labour market and to arm themselves with requisite skills that could help them become employable and also create jobs for themselves.
He stressed that the world had transcended flaunting of certificates and trending on skills and technological know-how for organisational performance and service delivery.
Yusuf added that it was only people with the required skills and technological acumen capable of advancing the cause of industrialisation and economic advancement that could stand the chance of employability and not people parading certificates without skills.
“The workshop would help youths to know how technology is really influencing the economy and also the systematic changes which they must work with and how they would also explore the benefits,” he said.
He added that the education system in Nigeria was not in conformity with the present educational realities that require technology and digitalisation for economic advancement and prosperity which had resulted in continued unemployment crisis.
” What you don’t have, you can’t give. That is the reason why we need to invest in training and retraining of teachers and also ensuring that students embrace the industrial training exercise set aside to gain more experience,” Yusuf said.
While citing unemployment factor, he stressed: “The curriculum in tertiary institution is not in conformity with what the industry requires and the need for total overhauling of the entire process must be considered.
The NASFAT boss, however, disclosed that the next phase of the NASFAT employability workshop would be held across the North West and Abuja, adding that the second phase was in Osun, Oyo and Ekiti.
The guest speaker, Mr Abideen Olasupo, who spoke on the theme: “The Future of Work, are You Ready” said: “The future employment in Nigeria keeps changing and the need for our youths to get themselves accustomed to different job skills is paramount. This is why we are introducing them to acquirable job skills such as digital training.”
“The future of employment in Nigeria keeps changing and the needs for the Nigerian youths to get themselves accustomed to different skills was paramount,” he stressed.
“This is why we are introducing them to acquirable skills such as digital training among some machine tools which would serve as benefits for them.
Olasupo appealed to the youths, especially students of Fountain University to embrace employability and empowerment skills in order to stand out among other graduates in Knowledge and skills.
A lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Fountain University, Mr Rasheed Adebiyi, who gave a brief insight into employability skills called on the students and youths to begin to brand themselves based on their skills and talents on the social media, design good CVs, build relationship profiles via linkedn and learn job interviews skills to be able to get their desired jobs.