Experts make case for enhanced employment rates, skill sets devt

Now more than ever, organisations need quality and relevant talent to sail through the rough tides of the tough economic situation the country presents. The big challenge lies in matching relevant talents and skill sets with companies, industries and markets where they are most needed. Careers fair seem to be efficient at making such matches.

Experts say such fairs are needed to narrow the growing unemployment rate and increase the employability of graduates from various schools of higher learning. They point out that the growing isolation of institutions of higher learning from industrial and societal needs is a major cause of the un-employability and mismatch of graduates’ skill sets with industry and society.

It is in light of this that the Lagos Business School (LBS) organised its 2016 careers fair as a way of strengthening and improving the engagement between MBA and industry partners.

Uchenna Uzo, MBA director, Lagos Business School disclosed that early engagement enhances placement opportunity and further help Lagos Business School understand what industry partners would like to see in graduates.

Uzo explained that this year’s career fair is special in a number of ways. “We took time to invite top-notch, global top companies, representing various sectors. Our MBA graduates had the opportunity to do presentations on various industries which will in turn help them demonstrate their understanding of these industries to potential employers.”

He noted that participating companies or brands get the opportunity to speak about themselves and their achievements

“In the last five years, we have achieved a 94 percent placement rates for our MBA graduates due to these career fairs. We intend to make the fairs even bigger, organised at multiply strategic locations around Africa and the world in partnership with other sister management schools. This will boost our internalisation effort and the need to graduate people with industry relevant skills” the MBA director said.

Ayomide Akindolie, associate consultant at Dalber Global Development Advisors and an alumnus LBS, said she met her present employer at the career fairs of 2011. During the fair “I encountered Africa Market Internship, now Tony Elumelu Foundation and got the opportunity to participate in a 10 week long internship. This opportunity introduced me to my current employer.”

Akindolie continued “you see there is no future for an academic or education system, which does not interact with the private sector. Universities need sustained engagement with the private sector to be able to produce industry relevant skill sets. For instance, what is the use teaching typewriting or traditional book-keeping skills to someone who would work with digital information systems? Lecturers need regular industry exposure, a yearlong preferably. During which they will test their theories and when they return to their various faculties refine the curriculum to reflect their industry experiences.”

Brian Charles, of Lafarge human resource department pointed out they are happy with the LBS MBA they hired and that is why they were back, to search for more talents.

Segun Dada, of General Electric and an alumnus of LBS affirmed that his first encounter of his current employer was at an LBS careers fair such as this. The careers fair offers both graduates and students to get to meet these companies, experience them, know who they are, and what they do. “It was during one of these fairs that I submitted my Curriculum Vitae (CV) to General Electric and the payoff is good” he opined.

STEPHEN ONYEKWELU