ACCESS Organizes Employability Workshop for UI Students
Lawal Maruf
The African Center for Career Enhancement & Skills Support (ACCESS), in a bid to prepare University graduates for the labour market, organized a workshop for the penultimate and final year students of the University of Ibadan on Thursday, November 9, 2023. The event was held in Room 32 in the Faculty of Arts.
The workshop which was themed “Capacity Building and Enhancement of the Employability of Graduates of University of Ibadan” was aimed at developing new interdisciplinary concepts to promote the employability of graduates in African universities. It was also centred on the requisite factors that enhance employability.
According to the Team lead (Nigeria) of the organization who also doubles as the former acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Adebola Ekanlola, the project is premised on the observation of the organization as regards the high rate of graduates without employment.
He noted that the organization seeks to create a practice-oriented interface for African Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) and partner in the Global South to enhance the employability of African graduates.
“Many people attend institutions of higher education, but on graduating, it becomes difficult for many of them to get employed. There are more job seekers than job creators amongst graduates,” he said.
“Industries complain that graduates lack the competence, the necessary creativity and skills. That is the reason why we are here to help you gain these required skills so that it would be easier to get employed, not only in Nigeria but in the global space.”
“Almost 90% of undergraduates seek jobs in the labour market and these jobs are mostly not available. Even when the jobs are available, many graduates are unemployable due to lack of requisite skills.” He added.
Professor Ekanlola also mentioned that the organization focuses on building the capacity of students and lecturers, university and business linkage, and employability research which would be a lasting solution to the unemployment of graduates.
“We tend to build the capacity of students and the lecturers, and facilitate a link between business owners and university students so that when they graduate, there would be a platform for interaction such that it would be easier for graduates to be gainfully employed in the industries.”
Giving a virtual presentation on the topic “E-coaching for Enhanced Employability”, a team member, Professor Olutayo Adeshina, stressed the need for both the academia and the industries to work towards digitalization and automation of coaching practices which foster self-learning.
He added that E-coaching guarantees the delivery of personalized and timely information from diverse sources to an even more diverse audience, irrespective of time and distance. He then advised students to adopt the use of E- coaching to facilitate the learning of requisite skills needed in today’s labour market.
“E-coaching has become a valuable development practice, and it is now one of the most valuable modes of learning. It is a significant tool of change,” he said.
In his second presentation, Professor Ekanlola emphasized the need for graduates to key into basic digital skills and soft skills to navigate the labour market successfully.
“A good degree guarantees a good job, but not so much any longer. Now, it is about a mix of demonstrable knowledge, competencies and skill set, and not just the degree.”
He added that “employability is about having an effective mix of knowledge, capabilities, skills, attributes and attitudes required to function effectively in specific roles or jobs”
While giving the vote of thanks, the Sub-Dean, Faculty of Arts, Dr Unoje, appreciated the team lead (Nigeria), Professor Ekanlola, and the coordinator (Nigeria), Dr. Lawal, for holding the workshop in the University of Ibadan for the students, despite the short notification.
