Christopher Kolade Foundation (CKF) in partnership with Andela Nigeria, Banwo & Ighodalo, KPMG in Nigeria and St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos at a conference, empowered about 240 fresh public secondary school graduates on ways to access knowledge and skills to facilitate transitions to viable postsecondary careers.
The conference tagged Stemma Hands-on Empowerment (SHE) ADVANCE held at Zone Tech Park, Gbagada, provided the girls exposure to career counselling from various experts in the engineering, financial services, law, IT, medicines/biological sciences fields, while they also enjoyed break-out sessions with professionals in their would-be careers.
Omobola Lana, managing consultant, CKF while speaking to Journalists at the event said the facilitators selected for the programme were seasoned professionals practicing in financial services, engineering, law, IT, medicines/biological sciences.
Lana said the programme aims to provide the girls opportunity to explore career profiles that align to their personal interests, skills and aspirations, and to gain information on the specific courses, and postsecondary alternatives to pursue those pathways.
The participants, made up of female pupils, who graduated from 10 public schools in Lagos in 2018 (Cohort 2) and 2019 (Cohort 3), learnt useful tips from Abimbola Shopeju, deputy managing director, Lumos Nigeria about how to get jobs and develop the right attitude for success.
Shopeju while speaking on “Skills for Success in any Career: Distinguishing traits of the best job candidates”, shared how her first job as a student in the United Kingdom motivated her to work even harder to attract better offers.
According to her, “When I got my pay slip at the end of the month, I thought so for all the work, I just got this little. I knew I had to work hard. I told myself that this school that my parents have sent me to, I’d better do well so that I can get a better job. While you look forward to whom you want to become, also look at who you cannot be. Ask yourself whether the life you are living today will make you better than your parents.”
On her part, Beatrice Kolade, chairperson of the Christopher Kolade Foundation (CKF), said the career planning conference was a valedictory programme of sorts for the participants, who are moving to the next stage of their lives in which they would make decisions about their future careers.
“We normally hold valedictory programmes for our school leavers. We train them to know that this is not the end of their lives. They have to choose careers,” she said.
A participant, Adenike Ikumapayi, who finished from Estate Senior Grammar School, Ilupeju, Oshodi, said CKF programmes has made her more confident and focused.
KELECHI EWUZIE
