Participants at job readiness workshop charged to think outside the box ~ Truth Reporters

By Gertrude Onyekachukwu-Uteh

GEEP participants have been charged to see possibilities in every situation and to be creative and innovative by finding new ways of doing things.

A Consultant to Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND Foundation), Mrs Edughom Hanson, gave the charge during a two-day Job Readiness Workshop organized by the Delta State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau in collaboration with the foundation in Warri.



The two-day workshop which was the first of its series began on Monday 30th November to 1st December, 2020 and was attended by selected fresh graduates from Delta Central and South Senatorial Districts of the state.

Graduate Employment Enhancement Programme (GEEP) is one of the programmes in the Delta State Government’s Job Creation Scheme, comprising Graduate Internship Facility and Job Readiness Workshop.

Mrs Hanson in her lecture entitled, “Self-Motivation and Personal Development (Including Problem Solving),” pointed out that the objectives of the workshop was to help them to identify job opportunities, improve their employability, maintain discipline, become confident about the labour market and to increase their ability to create jobs.

”Your goal should be to add value to a system. It is important you drive yourself, be propelled by the internal force. Think big and always see the bigger picture in every situation. Do not shut the door to opportunities in the time of your waiting for job. Leverage on opportunities that exist through vocational skills and in Information Technology Services. I admonish you to think outside the box. The secret to success is preparation, hard work and being able to learn from failure,” she emphasized.

Also speaking, one of the Resource Persons, Dr Vincent Onudugo in a lecture tagged, “Developing a Positive Attitude and Mind-set,” tasked them to change their attitudes and the negative way they perceive things.

He reminded them that there is a paradigm shift from emphasis on certificate to competences and one’s abilities as a result of being skilful, calling on them to be daring by developing the right mind-set to shift from unemployment to employability and knowledge-based job opportunities in the private sector.

He explained that what employers seek are employees who would be able to contribute meaningfully to the growth of their organization.

Earlier while declaring the workshop open, the Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer, Prof Eric Eboh, thanked the PIND Foundation for their collaboration in the design and implementation of the workshop.
He tasked the participants to take the training seriously in order to adequately prepare themselves for the labour market.

According to him, “The aim of the workshop series is to improve the employability and market-readiness of graduates fresh from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) by imparting in them critical skills, tendencies and aptitudes. The job readiness workshops are driven by the need to remedy the inadequate preparedness of fresh graduates for the job market. Hence, the job readiness workshops serve as “finishing school” for fresh graduates.”

He pointed out that the curriculum of the job readiness workshops would reflect hands-on skills, competencies and behaviour that could help fresh graduates to find and obtain employment in the organized private sector.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Governor Emmanuel Oghenekome (Isoko North LGA), a Civil Engineer and Oghenefejiro Ederhin (Ethiope East LGA) who studied Physics and Electronics expressed their joy for the opportunity to undergo the training, saying that they learnt how to overcome barriers that cause unemployment and how to possess the right attitude to begin their own businesses.

Patrick Okpegere (Isoko South) studied Electronics and Telecommunication. He admitted that the workshop had taught him that his thoughts are the engine of his mind-set. According to him, “I learnt I cannot witness change in my attitude and mind-set except I change the way I think. I have been advised to focus on my carrier, follow my thought processes by writing them down and to always envision the bigger picture by being futuristic. With this experience, I am prepared to begin my own business in my field of study.” 

The participants were exposed to other topics: “Making Good Use of Time While Searching for a Job,” “Digital Technology for Job Information,” “Preparing for Job Interviews,” “Carrier Planning and Job Readiness,” and “Writing Effective CVs for Job Positions.”